A Tear In Space
by GW-Duo-2099
Summary: Gene and Jim finish rescuing a new crewmember and Melfina from a Kei base. Melfina is hiding something, and the ship has crashed on a distant planet. It seems the G-Boyz are there too. Its the X-Over of a lifetime. (PG-13 for violence and language)
1. Editors Note

Authors Note To The People  
  
Ok, now, I have been writing Outlaw Star crossovers since I was in 6th grade, and have come to enjoy the work. Of course I never got a big audience because I never showed them to anyone but my friends. It means a lot to put my biggest story on the web, and now I need you peoples to read and, that's right, review it, and tell me anything that is wrong with it. Now I know that there are some errors in the first 25 pages with not making a new sentence when a person speaks. And there is some crummy writing, because when I started this fic it was December 23, 2001, and now it is finished, (The Alpha Version anyways.) May 1, 2003. (That's right, a whole year. I hit some writers block along a period of three months, so I was kind of out of it.)  
  
I need someone to tell me how to make it better, and frankly, everyone who I know is too damned lazy to read it. So now I ask you, the people of the internet, to tell me what is wrong. Thank you.  
  
~And by the way, I don't own Outlaw Start or anything of it, ok? Except this story~ 


	2. Retribution

Chapter 1: Retribution  
  
Jack's body felt weak, and numb. He laid on the ground as noise burst through his ears and sounds surrounded him. All around. He heard familiar voices, droning in and out. He could hardly open his eyes and when he did, the light burned them severely. He'd rather just curl up and die. But he couldn't let it happen because he realized that where he had gotten would be in vain at the expense of his own life. He tried to lift himself up, but his weight was too much for his arms. He collapsed once again. When he opened his eyes again, he saw someone standing over him. It was hazy, so he couldn't make out the figure. "Can you walk?" the voice asked. When he tried to stand up he fell over once again, indicating he couldn't even move. The voice sighed, and then he found himself being lifted off the ground. Jack began moving at a slow, and then fast speed. He saw enough to realize he was now in a vehicle. Soon after, it had stopped, and he was being carried away again into a large ship. The doors opened, revealing more light to sting his eyes. He heard too many sounds to find out what was going on. Most of which were explosions. When he was finally settled down in what appeared to be a cot of which, he felt numb as the aircraft lift off and fired from the ground. The speed was extreme for his condition. He could see another figure sitting by him, but still couldn't make out who it was. Not knowing what had happened, he thought sleep would be the best option for someone in his condition, and knew if he stayed active, he would go worse. He had to have been full of something he wasn't used to. After that, he fainted. 


	3. Reunion

Chapter 2: Reunion  
  
Jack finally awoke from his deep sleep, now able to walk and breathe easily. He sat up to observe his surroundings. He noticed clearly he was on the Outlaw Star. Gene must have carried him inside. When he got up, he could barely walk, but could manage. 'What the hell happened to me?' he thought. He put his hand over his face and rubbed his eyes. Then he began looking for the crew of the ship to ask what exactly was going on. He was able to find Jim working in the back. "Jim!" Jack yelled. Jim was startled a bit, and was surprised to see Jack walking again. "Jack! I didn't know you were up again already." Jim said, whipping the grease from his hands with a damp rag. "Ya. That's me. Mr. Indestructible." Jack said, then gasping for air. "Jim, can you tell me what happened to me?" Jack asked. "No. I can't tell you. But Melfina can. She was there when it happened." Jim said, having a sudden concerned look on his face. "Was there when what happened?" Jack asked. He took the expression as if he didn't even believe it. "You were captured along with Melfina when you tried to go in by yourself and get her out. Stupid, stupid, stupid." Jack sighed, and then responded to Jim's remark. "Yeah, I know." Jack said, easing a smile on his face. "Can you tell me where she is though?" He asked. "Yeah. In her room." Jim said, pointing behind Jack. "Thanks." Jack said. "But can I give you a crutch or anything? You look limp." Jim said. "Yes. A crutch would be good." Jack said. Jim pulled one from a metal storage cabinet. "I kept this in case one of our legs were blown off." Jim smiled. "You're real romantic Jim." Jack commented. "Yeah." Jim replied, and Jack began to walk off. "Oh, and Jack!" Jim yelled at him. "Yeah?" Jack yelled back. "Don't ask Mel too many questions. She's a little emotionally broke down about it all." Jim said. "I think I can fix that." Jack replied with a bit of hope in his voice. "Whatever you say." Jim muttered to himself. Jack found Melfina's door, and opened it up. She was asleep. Jack moved inside, limping to her bed. He pulled out a chair, and yanked in backwards. He moved it beside her bed, and sat. She'd have to wake up sometime, but it didn't take long. She was roused when Jack had entered her room. When she opened her eyes halfway, she saw Jack in a chair looking at her. She then sat strait up and opened her eyes fully. She was surprised to see Jack up and around, but noticed he had a crutch so he wasn't healed all the way. "Wha, wha, wha, what are you doing up?" Melfina stuttered. Jack put his hand on her shoulder and looked at her. "Melfina, what happened to me?" Jack said, suddenly looking concerned. Melfina looked depressed at the moment. Jack's expression changed at the sudden look in her face. "Mel." Jack said sternly and cold. Melfina looked up at him. She was almost to tears. Jack got up and sat next to her. 'Jim told me about this.' Jack thought. 'Let's just play it cool.' Melfina suddenly burst out in tears and threw her head into Jack's lap. Jack put his arm over her head and sighed. Jack grabbed her shoulders and sat her up strait and looked at her hard this time. "Mel, what happened to me? I have to know." Melfina stopped crying, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It started when you came to get me. The Pirate's took me away, and you were suddenly enraged. Gene and Jim pulled you back, and had to drag you onto the ship. But then you broke out and came after me. They were able to capture you, and threw you into a cell. Soon after, you were due for execution. They decided to poison you with a type of drug that can kill you with the right amount. They were pumping into you for about eight hours. If one more hour had passed you would have been dead by now. Gene, Jim and Chris came and destroyed the facility, and got you out. You had just about enough strength to fight off the drugs." Jack slapped his head with his hands. "It was all my fault Jack." Melfina said, burying her head in her hands. Jack held her. "No, no it's not. I was too reckless." Jack was thinking whether he should go back to bed or stay on the bridge. He was still weak from the drugs, and they made him go brain dead. Jack was a little stirred by the emotions Melfina was putting out. Although he couldn't comprehend the real feeling she was hiding, he had enough thought to realize that she was hiding something that he needed to bring out. Jack looked at Melfina's face. He dried her tears with his fingers, and lifted her head up. "I need to go see Gene on the deck. I'll see you later. But Mel, do me a favor and think about everything that happened and write it down and then give it to me. If this is a trap, I'll need all the details." Melfina didn't answer him. She kept her head low. Jack sighed and left her room. On his way to the bridge, he thought about why the Pirates would not kill him immediately after they captured him. He had already killed thousands of them and caused so much damage that it would be imperative for them to shoot him on the spot. He was thinking that they intended to let Gene recapture him. He'd have to look himself over in case they put something on him like a homing device of some sort. When the doors opened, Gene whirled around to see Jack on a crutch staggering onto the bridge. "Well, I see your up." Gene said smiling, making a joke of not caring the least bit. "Yeah." Jack said, taking a spot by him in a chair. "So, I take it your the one who got me out?" Jack asked him, looking sly. "Yeah. But it's not like I owe you anything. You've saved my ass more then once." Gene said, putting his head back. "Hey, Gene..." Jack asked. "Yeah?" he responded, shifting his eyes toward him. "Do you know what's up with Mel? She seems like she's on the verge of an emotional breakdown or something." Jack said. "Well you know how she is." Gene said, returning his eyes to the ceiling. "Yes, I know, but not like this." Jack said. "It's as if she knows something we don't and she's hiding it, even from me." "Don't be too hard on her." Gene responded. "She's had it rough. Being kidnapped on a regular basing can take it out of you to where you sometimes have no feeling at all." Gene said. "What would you know?" Jack whispered to himself. Jack sat up and stuck his feet on a table in front of him. He watched as the crews made final repairs on the ship, and departed from their stations like little ants. "So, this is how it is." Jack said, his eyes half open. "Get drugged, go to sleep, wake up, go to sleep." he was almost mellow to the point of sleeping. "Whatever." Jack said, falling backwards and out of the chair. "Whoops." Jack said, easing a smile on his face. Then he looked out of the windows. "Now isn't that, nah. It couldn't be." Jack said, as he saw what appeared to be a familiar figure finishing repairs and reloading. "But he does have a resemblance to...no, no. It can't be him." Jack said, giving up and lying on his bed. "I'm tired. I'm going down." Jack said, then finally falling asleep. When Jack awoke, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. They had already blasted away from the station, and were heading to where he had no idea. When he got up, he left his room and dragged himself down the halls of the ship. He got to the deck and took his usual place on the left. "Well you're finally up." Chris said, throwing a paper ball at Jack's head. "Yeah whatever." Jack drowsily said, and started tapping the controls and setting up his station. As he sank in his seat he looked to his right to see everyone was too busy to see what was going on with him, or for that matter, even care. When he saw Melfina he bet she was thinking of his request from yesterday. 'Somehow I know she's in on something.' Jack thought to himself. 'I'll get it out of her.' Jack smiled, as he thought. He knew he could get the information he wanted. He could read people so well. But for now the matter of getting to where ever was the problem. "Say Gene, where are we going anyway?" Jack questioned. Gene looked at him as if he was shocked at what Jack said. Then Gene smiled widely. "Earth." He said. Ah yes. Time to go home. Jack looked relaxed suddenly. But the relaxation would change to panic very soon. "Gene, unidentified vessels dead ahead." Melfina said, looking at the view screen in front of her. Gene squinted trying to get a better view of what was in front of him. All he could see was black, until an explosion erupted with a blinding flash. More followed, leaving large trails of explosions in every direction. "What the hell is that?" Gene yelled over the noise and shaking. "We appear to be caught in the remaining results of a supernova! It's going to tear the ship apart!" Melfina said. The fire and space dust were created everywhere in instances. They couldn't tell left from right or the other way around. They were blindly hurtling into unknown space. Soon everything just went white, and all Jack or anyone else could see was their hands in front of their faces. Jack couldn't stand the brightness any longer. He shielded his eyes and hit the floor. He was able to move but his leg hurt tremendously. He crawled to the door, which seemed to be miles away from the way things were looking. "Damnit!" Jack yelled as he lost strength and fell flat. Everything from there on was a haze. Jack awoke still on the same spot on the floor. When he sat up, he saw everyone was still unconscious. Gene was lying across one of the panels, Jim was sprawled on the floor, and Chris had his head on the bottom step of a three-step pair of stairs. Melfina's tank had busted open and she was lying on the floor with a piece of glass in her side from the tank's remnants. It was bleeding badly, and when Jack looked to see if anyone else was as bad off as her, he had only one thing set on his mind. Jack gasped, and tried to get up again. "Damn." he said. "She needs my help." Jack looked himself over to see if anything had happened to him. He noticed that the control panel he was operating at had fallen on his leg. He couldn't move. He hadn't felt it, due to the fact that his legs were numb already. He couldn't get it off himself. Gene and Chris were the closest people next to him, ranging about 2 or 3 meters away. Jack spotted a piece of metal that had been burnt off of a steel beam. He grabbed it and threw it at Gene's head. Gene only rolled over and moaned. Jack then reached for another piece and threw it at Chris, hitting him in the chest. Chris rolled over and opened his eyes. He sat up slowly afterwards, surveying the scene and wondering what hit him. He looked to his left to see Jack waving at him to get over there. Chris slowly got up to his feet, and rubbed the back of his neck. He had gotten banged around a lot, and staggered over to where Jack lay. "Chris, help me get this thing off!" Jack complained. "Hold on." Chris said, and lifted the control panel off of Jack's leg easily. Jack was able to stand up and hobble to a chair. He sat down, exhausted. "Hey Chris, look at Mel." Jack said pointing. He turned his head with a dramatic sway, and saw that her side looked as if it had been stabbed by a large knife. "Good god. How are we going to." Chris stuttered. "Bring her over here. I think I can get it out." Jack reassured him. She lay sprawled on the cold, metal floor, breathing normally, but looking pale. Jack didn't like the scene. Chris lifted her by her arms and drug her to where Jack sat. "Ok, sit her up Chris." Jack ordered, and Chris gave him a sour look, and propped her up against Jack's legs. Jack grabbed under her arms and picked her up to rest on his lap. "What are you gonna do?" Chris asked. "I think I can edge it out. I am going to need your help." Jack replied with a bit of concern spread all over his face. "Oh." Chris said. He stepped back. "Chris, try and find a cloth somewhere around here. I need to stop the bleeding." Jack said, and concentrated himself on Melfina. He felt for how far the glass went down. Not too far, but enough to where you couldn't just pull it out. Jack had to find some different way to get it out. When Chris returned with the rag that Jim was using earlier, only Chris had cleaned it off, Jack dampened it up, and wiped the blood that was already coming from the cut. Jack would have to inch the glass blade out of her little bit at a time. He couldn't yank it out. He put the towel on the glass and his other hand on the cut area. Jack was sweating. He was nervous about what might happen if it didn't work. He started pulling it out slowly, little at a time, but still a lot more to go. When he had gotten three quarters of the way done, Melfina was starting to wake up. She tossed her head and moaned in pain. When she halfway opened her eyes, Jack was looking at her side deeply. "Jack." Melfina whispered. "Mel, whatever you do, don't move." Jack said. "What's going on?" she said softly. "Just don't move." Jack said. Chris stood watching the whole thing unravel. When Jack was almost done, he took his hand and placed it on the end of the glass. "Clench everything Mel." Jack said to her. "What--ah!" Melfina yelled as Jack yanked what was left out of her and dropped it to the ground. Melfina was breathing heavily now, and looking around. "Chris, give me that cloth!" Jack said, and Chris bent down and grabbed the rag and tossed it to Jack. Jack held it to Melfina's side as the rag turned red. "Chris, have you seen any bandages around here?" Jack asked. "Sorry." Chris said. "I was lucky to find that rag you got there." "Damn." Jack said, and looked around. "Chris, hurry and run to my room and get my large white T-Shirt out of the closet! Hurry!" Jack yelled. Chris jumped and ran as fast as he could out the door. Melfina's eyes were closing slowly, and her hands that were holding Jack's were loosing their grip. "Mel, hold on. Hold on. Chris, hurry up." Jack said. In about 15 seconds Chris was back with the requested T-Shirt. Jack quickly lifted Melfina up and wrapped the T-Shirt between her chest and thighs. Melfina felt her side. When she pressed her hand against the cut, it hurt badly. Her hands returned to resting on her stomach. "Chris, I need you to watch Melfina while I scout the ship." Jack said. "Hey, I don't think you're in the right condition for that." Chris protested. "Cmon, you know me." Jack winked. "Wake the others as well. I need to assess the damage." Jack said, and set out. "But why cant I?" Chris asked. "I can't look at what is going on here." Jack said, waving his hands back, and pushing the door open. There wasn't too much structural damage. Some beams had fallen down, and some of the doors wouldn't open, and the floor was pretty torn up, with some things scattered all over it. Jack found that the engine room was littered with tools and parts of the beams supporting the roof. It was stable, but it wouldn't last forever. Next he had come back from the engine room and was now checking the weapons locker room. He hoped his Plasma Rifle had survived the crash. When he saw everything was in one piece, he headed inside. He checked the lockers. When he saw that they were all pretty much ok, he opened #19 up and took out the handgun resting inside. "You can never be too careful when you're here." Jack said to himself, and continued to check the other rooms for damage. What wasn't destroyed was either burnt or had lots of things stuffed next to it. "Hm." Jack said. He put his crutch down and bent down to see some nuts and bolts and a little bit of scrap that didn't come from the ship. "What the." Jack said to himself. It didn't match his surrounding at all, and some of the metal appeared to be armor, and had an insignia on it. It was a strange symbol that he didn't recognize. "Ah" Jack said, shaking his head and getting up to look around some more. But he couldn't get that thought out of his head. "This is really weird." he said to himself as he looked around. Jack checked most of the other parts of the ship. Most of them had only things scattered around on the floor or the beds and furniture were overturned. Jack decided to head back and check on the rest of crew. Especially Melfina. When Jack got back, Chris had awakened everyone, and Melfina was still hurt and not very active. "So, what happened?" Gene asked, sitting up at Jack's sudden arrival. "Most of the ship is all right except for some debris and some fallen beams." Jack said, and then diverted his attention to Melfina. "How is she?" Jack asked Gene. "She's, well, ok. I don't think she'll die, but she's really tired. She needs a place to sleep man. Hey, lucky you saved her when you did. I wouldn't have known what to do." Jack nodded in agreement and picked her up. "Need any help?" Gene asked. "No. No thanks." Jack said, and continued to Melfina's room. When he had gotten there, the only things that needed to be fixed were her overturned bed and a lot of things lying around. Jack set her against the wall, and began working on her room. He managed to flip the bed over and push it back against the wall, and then put some things back, and left the stuff that he didn't know where to put against the wall. Melfina had woken up, and her eyes were open just enough to see. "What happened to me?" she asked intently to Jack. "A piece of glass was caught in your side. I had to get it out or it would have become more serious." Jack said looking over his shoulder. "Thanks." Melfina said smiling. "No problem. I've did things for you bigger than that." Jack explained. "I suppose." Melfina smiled. When Jack had finished straitening everything up, he turned around. "Can you stand up?" he asked. "I'm sure I can manage." She said, and pressed against the wall and pushed her way to her feet. "How about walking wise?" Jack asked. "I'm sure we're both in the same situation." She said. But she could walk nonetheless. She walked across the room slowly and sat down on her bed, tired enough to just collapse. "Do you want to get dressed?" Jack asked. Melfina was so tired she hadn't noticed she was still naked. "Oh.um, not now. I think I'll just lie down." So she pulled the covers out and tucked herself under them. Jack sat down next to the bed. "Aren't you going back to the bridge?" she asked. "No. I'm staying here to keep an eye on you." Jack replied. "You really don't." Melfina said. "I want to." Jack said. He got up and sat on her bed. "If you know me then you know that is something I would do." Jack said, brushing his hand against her cheek. She took his hand and held it. "Thanks again." She said, and turned back to face the wall again. Jack laid down next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. She moved a little bit to adjust, and then brushed up next to him. "Hey, um..." He remarked with a bit of a quiver. "I know." Melfina responded, and fell asleep. "Do you think Jack will come back?" Jim asked. "I don't think so. If I know him, he'll stay with Melfina." Chris responded, and sat down in a broken chair. "Well ok then. So now what do we do, seeing how the ship's trashed and we have no means of repairing it in this condition?" Gene asked, leaning against the almost snapped-off console. "We look around." Jim commented. "This planet is clearly breathable." "I dunno, doesn't it look a little, well, hostile?" Chris asked. Jim shook his head in disagreement firmly. "Well why not?" Chris asked. "Well why so?" Jim replied. "Never mind." Chris said. Gene Chris and Jim had run to the end of the almost destroyed ship, looking for a means to get outside and deal with any intrusions. "Is the locker room still in one piece?" Gene asked, sticking his head through the crack Jim was able to squeeze through. "Barely." Jim said, and came back to the crack. "Head to the door. I should be able to boost some power to it and open it up." Gene and Chris walked to the door half bent and torn. But there was something on the wall next to the door that caught Gene's attention. "Look." Gene said, pointing to the wall. "What?" Chris asked, turning around, and saw that there were some specs of blood and a few bolts in that certain spot. Gene got on his knees and looked at it closely. "Looks like something, or someone else was here already." Gene said, picking up some of the bit of blood and rubbing it between his fingers. Jim opened the door and Gene stood up. "What?" Jim asked, looking at Gene's concerned look. "Look at this." Gene told him. Jim squatted down, and surveyed the splotch of blood. "What." Jim said to himself. "I can't tell what it is, or what it is, but I have a feeling it's Kei." Gene said. "How do you figure?" Chris asked, looking at him. "Check the mechanical parts laying next to it." Gene said, pointing at half of a scrap heap, lying next to it. "That could be anything though." Chris said. "No it can't. Do you see any black or anything that looks like this around here?" Jim asked him. Chris looked around. "I'm guessing that when our ship was shaking, he hit the wall hard, and it knocked the stuffing out of him. His blood where he hit, and the parts that fell off when he stood up." Jim said. "Hm." Gene said, and turned into the room. Gene opened the locker door. "Good. The weapons weren't damaged in the process." Gene said, taking out his pistol and snapping a clip into it. "Hm. Are you sure that this place looks real dangerous?" Jim asked Chris. "There's no grounds suggesting that." "Well it was just a guess." Chris said. "Because everywhere we have landed we have gotten captured or shot at." Chris responded. After they had made sure they were full up on ammunition and gear, they scavenged the ship. "Looks pretty bad." Jim said. "You said it. It may take months to repair all of this." Gene exclaimed. "Hey guys! Come check this out." Chris yelled from a distance. When Gene and Jim got to the spot, Chris pointed out a large hole that had been made in the wall. "What happened here?" Gene asked. Jim walked up, and noticed the burnt and smoldered edges of the wall. "It was either blasted or burnt through." "Outside?" Gene asked. "No. Inside." Jim said. "What the hell is going on here?" Gene asked. "I don't know, but I suggest we check the outside and head for the nearest city." Jim said. "Nearest city? They'll kill us!" Chris said. "We can sneak around or get some of their clothes." Jim said. "All right." Chris said. He looked to Gene. "Sounds like a plan." He said. "But are you sure we should leave Jack and Melfina here?" Gene asked. "Jack can handle himself. Right now we need to get into town." Jim said, and they jumped out from the hole and continued on. Jack had woken up a little after 2 hours of sleep. He sat up, and then stood up. When he realized he could stand, he tried walking around a bit. When he realized the drugs had worn off completely, he started stretching his legs out because they were so sore from not being used enough. He was about to lie down again when he heard someone clanking through the halls. He sat back up and walked slowly to the door. He stood next to it. "If I know Gene he wouldn't be back yet." Jack said. He then opened the door. Jack peeked his head out from the door and walked slowly to a pile of crates in the hall and peeked out. He saw a shadowy figure coming from down the halls. But it wasn't from the direction of the bridge. He looked closer and saw it wasn't anyone he knew, but he couldn't tell who or what it was at all. Jack drew the 9mm from his pocket that he had picked up earlier. The person was getting closer. Jack saw that he was approaching the light. He was going to enter its glare range soon. When the figure finally entered the edge of the brightness of the light bulb, Jack jumped out from behind the stack of boxes and pointed his gun in the direction of the figure. "Freeze!" Jack said, holding the gun to the person who was less than 4 yards away. The person stopped dead in his tracks. "Hands over your head, now." Jack said. The figure lifted his hands above his head and surrendered. "Step into the light so I can see you." Jack ordered. The figure then pulled something from his back pocket and rolled it onto the floor into the light. Jack looked curiously at it. Then, a blinding flash emitted and the room went completely white. Jack shielded his eyes and jumped back behind the crate. Jack leaped back out when the flash had disappeared. He pointed his gun in all directions, looking for the stranger that had entered the ship. Jack's thoughts were soon interrupted by an exploding box to his left. The figure had begun shooting at him from behind his own cover; a metal chunk that had fallen from the wall was now obscuring the character from Jack's line of sight. Jack quickly jumped back behind the boxes and continuous gunfire pelted the walls and crates. The person then jumped out into the light and looked around. Jack did the same and jumped from atop of a nearby piece of metal and leaped out, holding the gun with both hands directly in front of the character's face. The stranger was doing likewise, one hand on the weapon and then other going for another clip. The person was masked. He had a black headpiece on and holes in it so he could see. Jack gasped as he slowly lifted his free hand onto the person's mask, and lifted it off his head, only to see Trowa was the gun-wielding intruder. Trowa clicked the trigger and Jack flinched as the barrel jutted out notifying him it was empty. Jack stood up with the gun still pointed at his head. Trowa raised his hands and stood up himself. "I know who you are." Jack said. Trowa's expression didn't change. Jack stepped back a couple of time more, and kicked down some of the boxes so they couldn't be used again. "Get against the wall.Trowa." Jack said slyly. Trowa's expression changed when he said his name. He shifted nervously. "Do it." Jack said, raising his gun again. He silently stood with the front of his body against the wall. Jack came around and looked at him to see if there was a lump in case he had any concealed weapons in his pockets. He wasn't about to frisk him. "Ok." Jack said. He backed away again. Trowa came out of his position, and stood in almost the exact same spot, hands raised. Jack looked at his gun, and then back at Trowa. "I'm going to trust you with this, because I trust you'll make the right decision. And also because I know who you are." He said, and bent down and rolled the gun over the floor to Trowa's feet. Trowa looked down and with his eyes still fixed on Jack, picked up the weapon, and placed it in the holster on his waist. 'He isn't going to trust anyone.' Jack thought to himself. "I now have no weapon. You can trust me too. I hope you will." Jack said. "Now lets try answering some questions." "Why are you here?" Jack asked. "I came to investigate." Trowa said slowly. "Investigate what?" Jack asked. "That's confidential." Trowa replied. "I thought so." Jack said, shifting uneasily at the thought of not having a gun. "And since you are a witness to my mission, I'm afraid I can't let you live any longer." Trowa said, pulling the gun back out. "But I thought." Jack yelped. "You thought wrong kid. You can't trust anyone around here." Trowa said firmly. Jack hesitated, and when Trowa was just about to shoot him, Jack closed his eyes and heard a crash and looked up. Melfina was holding a broken wine bottle in her hands and had a look of despise on her face. She looked at Jack, and lightened up. "Melfina! You saved my life!" Jack yelled. She looked back at him and smiled widely. Jack ran up to her and she dropped the bottle. Jack tightened his arms around her and she did the same. "My god. How did you find me? I thought you were still asleep." Jack said. "I woke up at the sound of some shots, and when I peeked out the door, I saw you holding a gun. So kind of went around and when he was about to shoot you, I, you know, found a bottle and, well, hit him on the head." Melfina looked kind of sheepish. "Hey, no one saw us and I ain't saying anything. Anyway, help me get him tied up." Jack asked. "Hey how is your side? Does it hurt at all?" Jack commented. "A little, but not enough so that I notice it." Melfina responded. "Ok. Oh, and, do me a favor and get some clothes on." Jack said. She looked at herself and went back into her room. By the time Trowa was strung up and still unconscious, Gene, Jim, and Chris had made it to the city. Gene peeked around the corner of the nearest building. "They don't look armed." he said. "Wouldn't think so." Jim said slouching. "I could have been wrong." Chris admitted. "Come on. I think it would be safer if we found a clothes shop and blended in." Gene whispered. The city was a rather large place. There were more trees then there needed to be, and the streets had pedestrians walking back and forth, stopping occasionally to shop or chat. The sky was ominously dark, but not threatening. A tall infrastructure stood in the middle of the metropolis. Probably the town center, a court, or the center of the high council of the city. It's existence was undetermined by even the citizens of the city itself. No one was seen going in or out.  
  
When the three of them had managed to sneak into the nearest clothes store, they weren't very surprised to see that the clothes they already had were just about the same as what they were selling there. "Find something you like that's no to pricey." Gene said, and they split up. Chris found a red shirt and blue jacket with a pair of jeans his size. Jim found just about the same thing, only he found a green shirt with a black, light see-through jacket. Gene found a black shirt and black jeans with a dark blue trench coat. When they all met at the checkout counter, they looked each other over. "Ok whatever." Gene said. The total amount came to $47.89. Gene laid down some of the wrong currency. "Excuse me sir, what is this?" the clerk looked surprised. "It's cash man. What else does it look like?" Gene retorted. "Oh. You must not be from around here." the clerk said with relief. Gene hesitated. "There's a cash exchangement machine out front. Place you're money in there and it will determine how much your money is worth." Gene sighed with relief, and looked at Jim. But he thought to himself, 'Why the hell do they need cash exchangement? This is the weirdest thing since what happened to the ship when that large explosion went off.' "Hey Jim, go put this in that machine outside and bring in $47.89 back with you. Nothing less." Jim grabbed Gene's wallet and ran outside. "Hope this works. 'Place Here.' Simple enough." Jim said. He slipped a bill in, and the machine spit it back out saying, 'Currency does not register. Please try again.' "What the hell? Jim said to himself. He walked back into the store and tapped Gene's shoulder. "Uh, Gene? We have a problem." Gene looked surprised. "It doesn't have our money in its memory banks." The clerk cocked an eyebrow. "I suppose I could let this slip..." the clerk said unwarily. "All right then..." Gene said smiling. As soon as the transaction was complete, Gene, Jim, and Chris walked out of the store and proceeded on ward to see what they could discover about the city and it's mysterious background. "Hey Jack, do you know where everyone went?" Melfina asked. "Probably to look around." Jack answered, and continued to walk back from the bridge where they left Trowa. Jack went back into the weapons locker room and opened the crooked door. "Let's see. Locker 12, 13, 14, 15, ah, 16." Jack counted the numbers until he found his dear Plasma weapon. He took the strap and slung it around his shoulder. Then he selected another handgun and placed it in his pocket, and took another out. "Jack, come here quick!" Melfina yelled from the bridge. Jack jumped over the debris and ran down the hallway. He stopped dead in his tracks when he arrived. "What's wrong?" he asked hesitantly. "Listen." she said. Jack listened around, and then he heard the sound of a radio attached to Trowa's side. "Trowa, come in. Can you hear me? Trowa, respond. He's not answering." the voice sounded awkwardly familiar. "Fine. I'll head down there then." Another familiar voice on the radio. "Shit." Jack said to himself. "What?" Melfina said, turning her head to look at him. "Mel, is there any other opening then the one that was cut through on the far end of the ship?" Jack asked worriedly. "Not that I know of." she said. "Come on." Jack said. "What is it?" she asked. "I think someone else is coming." Jack said, and walked down the hall with his gun ready to be pulled out any second. 


	4. Choosing Sides

Chapter 3: Choosing Sides  
  
Gene, Jim, and Chris all stood quietly on the streets, observing the scene for anything too awkward. Just then, Jim spotted someone inparticuarly suspicious walking out from a small corner store. "Hey..." Jim said, patting Gene's shoulder. Gene turned his head, and watched as the strange person exited the shop and looked around. He then began to walk quietly down the street, keeping his head low and not saying a word to anyone. "Why does he matter?" Gene asked. "He could be a regular guy leaving a store. So what?" Gene commented. "Hold on." Jim said, and took out a pair of binoculars he had brought along with him from the ship. He raised them to his viewing and scoped out this other person. Jim went for his pockets first, and saw a glimmer, and then saw the metallic object he had in his pocket. "He has a gun!" Jim shouted. "Lets go then. What the hell are we still standing around for!" Chris yelled, and jumped over the railing and chased after him. Gene and Jim followed in a similar manner. But when they turned the corner, he was gone! "Where the hell is he?" Jim asked. "Start lookin." Chris said, and scanned the area closely. Jim and Gene looked, but all they saw were people. Phi listened in as well, and heard the bell of a nearby store ring, and he looked in that direction, and saw the mysterious person slip inside and out of sight. "Come on." Chris said, and they followed him into the shop. They entered and looked around, seeing nothing but merchandise, such as clothes and antiques. Chris looked around carefully, but saw nothing that looked like it was moving. "All right, we split up then. Gene, you take the left, Jim, you got the right. I got center." Chris said. They all took out their pistols and moved quietly around the store. "Oh and one more thing." Gene said. "Yeah?" Chris and Jim asked. "If you guys get in the shit, you radio in. Check in every 10 minutes." Gene said, and continued to move around. "Copy." Jim said, and searched carefully. Jim checked the back room for any activity, and saw something move quickly. "Gene, I think I might have found something." "Like what?" "I don't know. I'll report in if I see anything else." "All right." Jim looked carefully. When he didn't see anything, he shrugged, and continued. But then something jumped out from behind him, and before Jim could turn around the figure had a knife to his throat and said, "Nice and quiet. I don't want to have to kill you kid." Jim gulped, and the figure tapped his ear a couple of times. Gene's search could have been going better. When he was passing through a clothes-filled hallway, he felt a nudge in his shoulder, and turned to see the tip of a SMB sticking in his arm. "Shh. Don't make a noise. Please. I will kill you if you do" The figure stepped from behind a large pile of clothes and went behind Gene and pointed the gun in his back. "This way." He said, and Gene only smiled. Chris scoped out from behind the counter, and didn't hear anything on the comm-link. "Hey guys check in. Guys, respond." Chris tapped it a couple of times to insure no malfunction was in progress. Someone moved behind him, and Chris felt the wind in his hair as they passed by him quickly. He turned to see, but nothing was behind him. Chris ducked down, and peeked around the corner of the cabinet. He saw Jim being moved along slowly with the knife at him. Chris panicked, and was about to turn and try and kill whoever it was, but when he stepped out, he felt a sharp blow to his head and he felt dizzy. Someone grabbed him and he staggered. They took out their own weapon and held him at gunpoint. "What's so funny?" the figure asked Gene, who was laughing softly, just enough for him to hear. Gene whirled around and ducked down. The figure shot but missed. Gene slapped the gun out of his hand and tripped him. They fell down, but Gene caught him and also the gun in mid-air, and pointed it at their face. "You aren't very good at this are you?" Gene smiled. The person quivered, and Gene saw it was nothing more then a blonde kid, around 16 or 17. Gene straitened him out, and put the gun to his head. "You see kid, that's the mistake of putting a silencer on this thing. No one can hear you shoot, or when you are shot." "Are you going to kill me?" they asked. "Maybe I will. Depends on how well you cooperate." Whoever was holding Jim hostage turned the corner to see his dear friend in a headlock, about to be shot. "Put him down!" they yelled. "Let him go first bastard. Tell you what, I'll trade you. Same time?" Seeing as how there was no other choice, they let go of their grip on Jim, and he stumbled away from the captor. "All right, I'm gonna let you go now kid, but no fancy stuff or I'll blow your head off." But then, Gene felt something hard hit his head, and he collapsed. Jim looked around to see that someone hit Gene with the back of their gun. But then that same person hit Jim too, and everything went black. "Really Duo, did you have to be that careless as to let yourself be seen?" Quatre asked. "Hey, I didn't get captured, so don't call me careless you little wimp." Duo smiled. Quatre was about to respond, when Heero walked out of the shadows. "Both of you, shut-up. Now let's ask where they came from. Maybe we can figure out about this whole mess." "Jack, are you sure about this? Maybe it's someone else." Melfina looked extremely worried. "No it's not. His buddies are coming. And I expect one of the best killers to go right along with the rest of them." Jack strapped the Plasma Rifle to his back, and put some boxes in a bunker position. He sat next to the peephole, and looked out. Nothing yet, but someone was coming. "Listen, Mel, if anything happens to me, I want you to either hide or run." Jack sat against the wall and sighed. "But." Melfina protested. "No buts. My mind is made up. The rest of the crew is probably in the nearest city. At the first sign on trouble, run. Find them and get out of here. But I don't think they will be getting close enough to cause any trouble." Jack said smiling, and pulled the Plasma Rifle from his back, and looked it over. "They're coming." Jack said, and loaded the Plasma Rounds into the weapon and cocked it. "What can I do to help?" Melfina asked. "Hm. Good point. Here." Jack took the pistol lying on the ground. "This is your last line of defense." Jack said. "I hope you don't have to shoot this, so here's your job." Jack pulled a handful of small smoke grenade from the nearby duffel bag. "Lob these at em so they have no idea what's going on." Jack explained. Melfina nodded, and she sat in rest position, and waited patiently. "I think he's waking up." Quatre said. Gene looked up, seeing as how he was on the floor, and they back of his head hurt badly. "Oh, you guys are in for it." Gene said weakly. "I think not." Heero said. Gene tried to get up, but Heero kicked his back, forcing him back down to the ground. "Is this your definition of hospitality?" Gene asked smiling. "No. In fact, you are going to tell us where the hell you came from." Duo said, looking down on him. "Fine, but you will be in for one hell of a surprise when you get there." Gene muttered under his breath. Gene and his two unconscious friends were loaded into a car, and it started up and drove off. "See that out there?" Gene asked, pointing to a gleaming object in the distance. "Yeah. Is that it?" Quatre asked. "Find out." Gene said, lying down out of sheer exhaustion. "Keep driving." Heero ordered, and they drove off towards the Outlaw Star, not knowing that there really was a surprise waiting for them. "Let's see." Jack said, finding something to block the door with. He found quite a few bits of scrap metal, just enough to hold down the door. "Need some help?" Melfina hollered down the hallway. "No." Jack said, observing the job he did on the door. "I think that'll hold." Jack said to himself. "Jack!" Melfina yelled again. "What?" Jack asked, walking down the hallway to his sheltered position. "Something is coming! It sounds like a vehicle!" Melfina said. Jack looked out the windows of the ship. Indeed, someone was coming. "Come on!" Jack yelled, and he dashed behind the crates and metal pieces he had set up. "Ok, you know the drill. As soon as I tell you, throw one of the grenades. Not too soon and not too late. Timing needs to be perfect. Ok, get ready." "It's stuck." Quatre said, trying to budge the door. "Here." Heero said, and kicked it down with one blow. The minutes he walked into the shadows, he moved out of the way of anything that could hit him. Melfina made a small noise as she peeked over the corner of the boxes. "Shhh." Jack said, pulling her back down. He sat there, sweating and thinking of the next move. Heero waved the others in, and they all took positions behind the nearest wall. When Jack heard their footsteps, he waited for them to come into a clear view. Tension was rising. Just then, Jack stepped out from behind the boxes and raised his gun. "Get out of the way!" Jack yelled, and he pushed the beam's ability to full. He pulled the trigger, and a massive wave of pure, green energy shot from the front, and headed strait for the three of them. "Duck!" Duo said, and jumped out of the way. They others did the same. The beam made a large indention in the wall, and they all looked at it. "My god." Quatre exclaimed. "Surely, a gun that powerful takes time to recharge." Duo said reassuringly. But Jack toned it down to its lowest setting, and unleashed entire waves of ammo and pinned them down. "To hell with it." Duo said, and jumped out and fired blindly. The two others followed in a similar manner. "Now Melfina!" Jack said, and she threw the grenade over the barricade. It exploded and smoke filled the hallways. Heero ran from his position, and closed in on a closer spot. Heero reloaded his weapon and as soon as the smoke was cleared, Quatre rolled to a large piece of fallen metal, and began shooting large quantities of bullets from his SMB. Heero saw that Jack was protected by metal and boxes, so the bullets mostly bounced off of the metal, and hit the boxes but didn't go through. "Cease fire!" he yelled. All the noise came to a dead silence. Then Jack spoke up. "Listen, Heero," Jack said. Heero looked surprised to hear his name called from a complete stranger. "I don't want to kill you, Quatre, or Duo. Now, how about we settle this by talking it over?" Jack asked. Heero sat in silence, thinking. "Is this ship carrying any type of illegal supplies headed for the city?" Heero asked. "No. Why?" Jack asked. "Shit. We hit the wrong one." Duo said, leaning back. "All right. I'll consider your offer." Heero said. He rolled his gun across the floor and it tapped the sharp ends of the metal barricade. "You did the right thing. I doubt any of us were getting anywhere at this rate." Jack said, and stood up so they could clearly see him. "My name is Jack. Trust me. I know who you are, and now I beg you to trust me." Jack said, and he put one foot over the barricade and tossed his gun next to Heero's. Quatre stood and rolled his gun across the floor, and Duo followed in a similar manner. "Now, what say you, that we get the others in here? I am dying to tell Gene about what I've seen." Jack said, and Heero made a hand motion indicating that he should come with him. Gene had woken up, and stepped out of the car. He walked to the hole that the rest of them had entered. Jack saw that he had come in, and jumped over the barricade. "Gene! Are you all right?" Jack yelled. "Except for one large headache and a little tension, yeah. I'm ok." Jack looked out and saw that Chris and Jim were in a car and were unconscious. "I suppose you guys did that?" Jack asked. They all looked guilty to him. "Wake em up Gene. We need to straiten some things out. Hey, are those new clothes?" Gene looked at himself. "Yeah. Like em?" Jack nodded his head. After thirty minutes of getting the two of them out of the car, and everyone settled in and awake, they sat down at the busted head of the ship. "So what brought you guys here?" Jack inquired. "We saw the ship go down into the atmosphere and sent Trowa here to investigate." Trowa was awake and well, except he kept rubbing his head because of Melfina's slick move. "You see, recently, there have been ships that have come down to land near that large building. The central one. You must have seen it." Quatre asked. "Can't say I have. Gene, fill me in." Jack asked him. "Well, the place is big, busy, and there's a HUGE tower in the middle of the city. Very eerie." Gene said. "Go on." Jack said. "Well the problem is we cant get 20 feet near the damn thing." Heero said. "We have tried sneaking in, but it's just no good." "Have you tried passing yourselves as one of them?" Jack asked. "We don't see anyone go in or out." Heero said. "But we know it is the cause of spaceship explosions, stolen technology, and even spacestation 'Harkin' was destroyed. Ever since the tower was erected." Quatre filled in. "Have you seen any glass on the building?" Jim asked. "Yes, the very top. What are you suggesting?" Duo asked. "I know what." Gene said, leaning into the fray of thinking. "I still don't catch on." Chris said. "It is very jumbled." "What better way to get in and look around, then break in." Gene said slyly, leaning back. "But the windows are tinted, and possibly barred. We have no way of knowing what is on the other side." Heero proclaimed. "Unless." Jim said. "What?" Chris asked. "Come with me. I have something to show you." Jim said. He stood up, and the others stood in a similar manner. They walked through the messy hallways again, and Jim jogged eagerly to his quarters. He pushed open the door forcefully and looked around in the mess. "A-ha!" he exclaimed. He walked slowly to a small box implemented in the wall. Jim slid it out and pulled 3 Microchips out. "What the hell is that?" Gene asked. "Infrared chips. Attachable to anything. As long as you can see through it, you can see heat signatures, radiation signatures, plasma signatures, which I am seeing right now, and finally, it provides an x-ray of anything with body heat emanating from it." Jim said. "How did you manage to build these?" Gene asked. "Stuff we picked up around the different places we went." Jim confessed. Gene looked at him mysteriously. "Ok, ok, so most of it was finished by those humans we encountered. I just added the x-ray and plasma tracking." Jim said smiling. "Whatever." Gene said, passing it around to everyone. "Now since I messed with them they are a little unstable, and may quit at anytime given. I'm not perfect." Jim said, smiling again. "So what is the plan?" Trowa asked. "Well, I was thinking we check out the place by climbing to the top and scoping it through the windows. That would give us an idea of what goes inside, and we could possibly get inside and have a look ourselves." Jim said, shifting his eyebrows up. "Sounds like a plan." Duo said, agreeing. "Who is going?" Jack asked sincerely. "Uh, well, if I'd pick anyone I'd pick you and two others." Jim said, justifying his answer. "Me? Why me? I hate heights!" Jack admitted. Gene laughed to himself softly. "I just have this thing with heights." Jack said. "No big deal." "Then I see why not to pick anyone else for something like this. You have been on all the others in the past. Why quit now?" Jim asked, narrowing his eyes. "Nevermind. I'll go, but don't expect me to handle myself professionally." Jack replied quickly." Night fell fast after the discussion, and the three new members of the team, Heero, Quatre, and Duo, all left and promised to see each other at 8:00 the next morning. Jack, being so tired after all that was happening, walked to Melfina's room and collapsed on the bed. He covered himself up and closed his eyes, thinking he would pass out soon. But Melfina entered before he could do that. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I know I shouldn't be here, but my room is a mess. I'll clean it in the morning I swear but for now, can uh, can I stay here?" Jack asked, his eyes half open. "Well I didn't have a problem with it. Yeah, that's fine with me." Melfina said encouragingly, and presumed to get herself ready for the next day. Meanwhile Jack was head- on-the-pillow and halfway under the covers. Melfina came after getting ready and sat next to him. Jack opened one eye and looked around. "Oh and by the way, I never got the chance to that you for saving my life. That was real swell." Jack said, lifting an arm and bringing it back down to rest on the mattress. "Well that's ok. I know you have helped me before." Melfina explained, moving his hair out of Jack's eyes. "Shyeah, well, this is different. I usually shot the perverted bastards, not knock em clean out with a wine bottle. Besides, where did you find that thing?" Jack asked her. "Well I saw Gene drinking out of it much earlier ago, and found it in his room. It is just across the hall so I was able to sneak by easily." Melfina said smiling. "Well if you don't mind, I would like to go to happy-sleepland right now." Jack said, and laid down fully. "What are you thinking about?" Melfina asked. "How I wish you would stop talking and come to bed." Jack said in a frustrated voice. "I have a mission tomorrow. Have to get well rested and all that crap or I'll pass out in the middle of scaling a large building." Jack said smiling. Melfina laughed. "And also, you need sleep so you can worry about me tomorrow." Jack said smiling. Melfina turned around oddly. "Worrying? I'm going with you." She said smiling. "What?" Jack said, sitting up immediately. "Well yeah. I feel I haven't done much to help so I should go on this mission with you. I think having a female along might tip the odds in some cases." She explained. Jack looked at the floor. "Yeah well.you have to realize." Jack said in a muffled voice. "What?" Melfina asked, walking up to him and stroking his forehead. "Just leave all of the dangerous things to me, ok?" Jack asked. She smiled, and gave him a tight hug. "Ok. I wont get in the way." She said smiling, and crawled into the bed herself. "NOW can we go to sleep?" Jack asked. "Yes. We can." Melfina said, and shut off the lights. "Melfina." Jack murmured. "Yeah Jack." She asked, turning to face him. "Are you going to tell me that information I need?" Jack asked. "Maybe later." She said smiling. "Ok. And one more thing." He finished. "Yeah?" she asked. "I hope you know, that the reason I don't want you to go, is because I'm concerned for your safety." Jack stated. "I know." Melfina said, and they fell asleep. 


	5. Infiltration

Chapter 4: Infiltration  
  
The next morning came too fast for Jack. He woke up at 7:04, rubbing his eyes and yawning while stretching his arms out. He fell back down on the bed and closed his eyes but he couldn't go to sleep. He flipped his feet over the side of the bed and hopped down. He took one look around and walked slowly out of the room. "Do you thing they'll look kind of ridiculous in these things?" "Not at all. They were pretty flexible." "Yeah, but still." "Sh. Here comes Jack." "Hey guys, what's up?" Jack asked. He heard the voices of Gene and Jim discussing something so he might as well find out. "Uh, nothing, nothing." Jim said quickly. "You guys are doing something." Jack said. "Well, maybe we want you to wear a specific thing on tonight's operation." Gene said. "Oh geeze.you guys.what is it? Show me so I can spit on it." Jack said scornfully. "Here." Jim said, and handed him the suit. "Hey, this looks a lot like...hm.made of cloth but it seems it would fit like it was a swimsuit." Jack said examining the outfit. "Yeah. Heero dropped them off. He said that they would be good in the dark." Jim explained. "No shit. Well, at least we'll get to try them out this time. When does the rest of the crew get here?" Jack asked. "In about 50 more minutes." Gene said looking at his watch. "Well then let's wake up the others and get ready. But we will have to wait until night." Jack said. "Oh, and Jim, write out a plan for us, ok?" Jack asked him. "All right." Jim hollered back, and Jack was all ready down the hall and headed for his room. As soon as he got there, he saw it was a mess. Everything delicate was broken, everything that wasn't, was all over the place. "Ah god. I hate messes like this." Jack complained. He began to scoop up the things on the floor one by one and rest them on some surface. He pushed his bed back against the wall and picked up the mattress and threw it on his bed. He sat on it tiredly and looked around. Still more things. "What a time to pick up a room, when you have to infiltrate complexes in 10 hours or so." Jack said with a sigh. A little after an hour, Quatre walked in to see what was going on. "Hey, I'm kind of sorry about what happened yesterday." He confessed. "Hey no problem. I think I started it." Jack said smiling. "Yes well, do you need any help?" he asked. "Sure. I need all the help I can get." Jack encouraged, and while they picked things up and put them back, they talked. "So, why do you think they would put a huge tower in the middle of nowhere. This city is one place, but it's just a sitting target." Jack said. "Well you would think so, but all these things that happened just after it was constructed happened. Spaceships carrying supplies, passenger ships with VIP's on boards, Nano-Technology stolen, Spacestation 'Harkin' just exploding out of thin air! That place was a huge defensive platform for this planet. Without it this place is a planet that could easily fall under enemy attack." Quatre said. "That bad huh?" Jack asked, and before they knew it they were finished picking things up. "Well thanks for the help. I feel now that I desperately needed it." Jack said, observing his room and looking picking up one last thing. "Well let's go see what everyone has done." Quatre said smiling and they both left the room in search of anything new that the others had devised. "Jim!" Jack yelled from down the hall. Jim turned and waved him over. "Jim, what have you got for me?" Jack asked. "Well, we launch at 11:00 tonight. You will get handguns, but they are silenced. You are limited to 2 extra clips. Use them either sparingly or not at all. I hope you don't have to kill anyone." Jim said. "Or else you might get caught." "We'll be more then careful. I realize this isn't like one of our run-and- gun tactics Jim. How about the other 3?" Jack asked. "Well the leader, Heero, he's going with you. I think he checks out for the best candidate for the mission." Jim told him. "Well then why pick me? He's a one man army." Jack assured him. "True, but safety in numbers. Trust me." Jim said, and walked off down the hallway. "Well, I guess it's me, Mel, and Heero, all stand-alone infiltrees." Jack said. "Well good luck." Quatre said, and proceeded down the hallway in the same direction as Jim. Jack went to the locker room and found the silencer for the handgun he had all ready collected. "First time for everything." Jack said, and he screwed the silencer on without saying a word after that. He put it in his pocket so he could get it out later, and grabbed two more clips and put them in his other pocket. He shut the locker and turned, then leaning on it to think about what might happen. Worst case scenario is that they get caught. But that usually never happens. Maybe a few other times though. It was 10:15 and everyone was about the ship. Gene was handing out weapons, Jim was pacing frantically, and chaos was ensuing everywhere. Jack picked up his uniform and went to his room. As soon as he had fit into it and put the pistol in the side holster, he attached the two clips and managed to sneak a grenade into one of the pockets. "I'm saving this," Jack smiled. "for something special." 30 minutes to mission start. Heero and Jack were waiting for Melfina to get suited up before they left. As soon as they had gotten into a conversation, Melfina walked out of her room. Jack turned his head quickly and was about to speak until he looked at her. The uniform clung to every curve of her and fit tightly. Jack was spellbound, and Jack thought Gene and Jim were too. But Duo was just checking her out, period. "Mel, I ah, don't know how to say this, but, you look terrific." Jack said smiling. "Damn she's fine." Duo said to himself while he turned his head away, but just enough for Jack to hear him and smile. "Thanks." Melfina said and blushed because everyone was looking at her. "Come on everybody. Let's get into town. Heero, how long of a drive do you estimate it is?" Jack asked. "I'd say about 25 minutes." Heero said. "All right. Lets go." Jack said, and the three of them filled out. The three stacked into the car, and sat down comfortably while Heero drove. "Hey Jack. Hey. Put on your radio. The head set is in your right pocket." Jack heard Jim say. He opened it up and pulled out a tiny headset. He put the receiver in his ear and the microphone he attached to his collar. Or what appeared to be his collar. "Read you loud and clear Jim. Are you mission control or something?" Jack asked. "You could say that, yes." Jim told him. "Now listen to me closely. You each have a set of hookshots. They come with only one hook, so damage or break it and you just don't have one. When you get there, the building should look like it's been built in three layers. One layer is the central building, like reception and first floor offices. The second is primary services and support, and the top is research and development." Jim reported. "Are you sure?" Jack asked. "It's just a hunch. I hacked a few files out of their systems last night, but only a few files. The others were encoded heavily. It's like stacking a ton of concrete on a piece of paper." Jim said. "Well that explains a lot." Jack responded. They had reached the outskirts of the city and were now holding positions behind a large boulder and a few trees. "Mel, what can you see?" Jack asked her. She flipped the visor down over her eyes and zoomed in. "I think there is an alleyway right in between those two buildings over there." She said. "Right. We need the cover of darkness to hide exactly where we are." Heero said. "Hey." Jack asked Heero. "Yeah?" he responded. "I thought you guys were just Gundam Pilots, not secret agents." Jack said. "We were. Until they blew them up. Let's go." Heero said. He ran quickly between the two building and waved Melfina and Jack to hurry up. When they had reached the alley, it was almost pitch black. No street lights or anything hung in the particular area, and there were no door to any of the buildings. "Night vision." Jack said. They flipped their visors down and used the chips to see what was around them. "Mines not working properly." Melfina said. "It looks all fuzzy." She said. Jack walked up to her. "You sure it's not working?" Jack asked. "Yeah. It wont come back." She said. "Here, hold my hand. I'll walk you through." Jack told her. She held it tightly, and had to be maneuvered through the pitch-black alleyway. When they reached then end of it, they saw that street lamps showed the way through. They flipped their visors up, and looked around for any pedestrians. "Come on." Heero said, and began to run in between buildings and across streets quickly. "There, over that chainlink fence." Heero said, and made a high jump and after stepping the fence he hopped over it swiftly. "Do exactly as he did Melfina." Jack said, and ran and jumped on the fence and across the high gratings. Melfina looked at the obstacle, and ran as fast as she could at it and leaped higher then either of them did, and managed to almost step on the very top of the fence, and hop down. "Nice." Jack said, and Melfina smiled. Heero backed against the wall of the building, and leaned over the wall. "4 guards. Glock handguns. Light body armor. Got all that?" Heero asked. "Got it. Sounds like they aren't going to be too much of a problem." Jack said. "Yeah, but one or two shots and you're dead." Heero told him. Jack gulped, and waited for the next move. "I think we should take out the forward guard. I see what kind of pattern they are following." Heero told him. "Like how. String him up or kill him?" Jack asked. "Knock him out." Heero told him, and turned the corner and began to sneak up behind the person. "What's he doing?" Melfina asked. "Wait, wait, wait." Jack said. Heero was inches away from him, and he lifted both his hands and hit the guard on the head as hard as he could. The man made a small noise and hit the ground. Heero lifted him up by the arms and dragged him behind a truck that was parked a few feet from him. "Sleep tight." Heero said, and dropped his body behind the vehicle. He waved for the others to hurry, and they ran to his current position. "This looks like a good spot to start." Heero said, and point up at the third block of the building. "Come on. To the side of the complex." Heero said. They ran to the right side of the building, and each of them took out their hookshots. "Aim carefully. Fire." Heero commanded, and the hooks flew through the air and attached to the third layer. "Shit. Mine didn't make it. It's only on the second." Jack said. "You can hold on to me as we go up there." Melfina told him. "Ok." Jack sighed, and they began to scale the wall slowly. Soon, Jim radioed in to check their status in the infiltration. "You guys on the wall?" Jim asked over the comm. "Yeah. Kind of cool, but did I mention that I hate." Jack said. "Yeah, yeah. Hate heights." Jim said. "Yeah." Jack said. "So how does is look? Anything gone wrong yet?" Jim asked sincerely. "Nope. Smoothly. One guard is sound asleep and is hidden in the brush. We are on our way to the top and have no worries." Jack said. "Sounds too easy. Well I'll check back in later. See you until then." Jim said, and tuned out the radio. "Well he says that this is too easy, and I think it is too. But I think it's just because we have an expert with us." Jack said. Heero smiled slightly. "I'm flattered. But I haven't done this before, actually." Heero said. "You know, while we still have a few hundred feet to go, let's talk. Heero, you're the heartless soldier so you get to pick a topic." Jack said. "Ha. What would I have to talk about?" Heero asked. "Anything casual. I'm trying to get that cold feeling out of you in trade for some decent conversation." Jack told him. "Well, casual you say?" Heero asked. "Anything." Jack said. "Then perhaps we should talk about girls, seeing as how I have a nagging thorn in my side all ready." Heero said, this time smiling. "Ahem." Melfina spoke up. "Sorry. Well this girl in particular is not a thorn in my side at least." Jack said, moving his climbing a bit closer to hers. "Well I'm happy for you at least." Heero said with a grin. "Relena isn't so bad Heero. She can be pesky, demanding, preppy, complains a lot, doesn't understand sometimes, need I go on, but at least the girl is there Heero. Make a move while you still have guts to call your own before they are splattered on the wall." Jack said. "Well, that is a very good example, I think. But why her. We don't bond. We don't mix and match or anything. We are just too different." Heero said. "Well not entirely. Both of you have no fear of dying, and tend to take matters in your own hands from time to time recklessly. Especially you Heero." Jack said giving examples as he went along. "You two. How did you guys make it work." Heero asked. "I'm 13 and your what? 16, 17 and your askin' me?" Jack asked patiently. "Well yeah. You seem to get a long very well and things like that." Heero said while concentrating on his rope. "I think I started it. If I hadn't made the first move, I would be so shy around her and she would see me as a friend only." Jack smacked. "That is true." Melfina said, looking at Jack and then at Heero, who shook his head and picked up the pace. "I don't think I will ever understand the female species." Heero grunted. "Well I don't think any man ever will. I think females demand something other then what we can give them unless they tell us." Jack said while doing hand motions to give examples, one hand at a time. "Let me ask you two a um, well serious question. And I'm asking because we nearly fall in the same age category." Heero said. "Yeah, like I'm younger 3 to 4 years then both of you, and I am acceptable. I feel great." Jack said smiling. "That's good to know. Well, have you ever done anything besides being really close friends? I mean, has anything uh, well you know. A serious thing you do in a relationship." Heero asked. "And I thought I would never hear this out of you man. You did good Heero. Well, the only thing that I have done is see her naked, and the rest of the guys' back home have too. No big deal or anything. But we do cuddle sometimes." Jack said, tilting his head and smiling with closed eyes towards Melfina. All she could do was smile and then laugh at Jack's cheerfulness. "Ok, we are at the second floor mark." Heero said. He grabbed the end of the rope and tugged himself over the ledge so he lay on the hard bricking of the somewhat twentieth story. "Nice. But I think I'll puke if I look down. Give me a boost Mel. I'll hold on to you and help you walk up." Jack said. He uncoupled the links of the hookshot that he was already attached to and coupled his to Melfina's rope. "Ok, we go at the same time. I'll hold on to you and we'll kind of walk in a train style." Jack said. Soon, they were off again, up the wall. Jack and Melfina were inching up slowly, since they couldn't go very fast because of rope sharing. Heero, seeing no reason to stay behind, ran the rest of the way. "You sure can go man. How about giving us a hand though." Jack asked. "How? It's all up to you. That would be kind of irrelevant." Heero said, and waved as he climbed back to the top of the thirtieth story. "What's gotten into you Heero? Your like the man everyone wants you to be, but now you are more then that." Jack asked. "I think it's the cans of beverages I had before the mission." Heero said. "What was it labeled?" Jack asked mysteriously. "Mr. Pibb Extra." Heero said while looking back at Jack and scurrying back on top of the ledge. Soon, Melfina and Jack had made it to the top. They uncoupled the links and dropped them on the side. "We're up Jim. And I carried on quite an interesting conversation with Heero actually." Jack reported in. "Good. Well it seems he's more then meets the eye." Jim said laughing. "Now, how do we get the hell out of here? We sure as hell can't jump, let alone go back down the ropes. What do you have for us." Jack asked. "Use the elevator in the building." Jim said. "Do you have no way of getting us out or what?" Jack asked seriously. "Well no. I intended for you to use the building to actually get back down but apparently that was a security issue. But you can do it. If we can take down about 20 Pirates with a plasma rifle, then I'm sure you can sneak past some people in suits and science uniforms." Jim said with a firm comeback. "Well we aren't exactly heavily armed little friend of mine. 2 clips is about enough to take down one floor of security in this place." Jack said to counter his response. "Fine, fine. But you will have to use the elevator. If you can't, use the ventilation system. It runs a network throughout the building." Jim said. "Fine then. But I am going to be a very unhappy covert agent if I come back alive." Jack told him firmly. "You got it." Jim said. "Radio silence from here on. Over and out." "All right Heero. There's the glass over there. Let's have a look." Jack said. They crouched down and flipped the head visors on first. "I'm picking up at least 5 organisms. All fine." Heero said. "I have an x-ray. All I can see is a large shelf with boxes in front of me. I think it's safe to enter." Jack said. "Ok. Uh, but how?" Heero asked. "With this handy blowtorch of course." Jack said, and pulled a blowtorch from his back pocket and crouched down. He began welding a circle in the glass, and after cutting all the way around, he had to find some way to not alert anyone when they entered the building. "Heero, we can't let anyone know we're here. How do we get the glass off quietly?" Jack asked. "Like this." Heero commented, and got right in front of the glass and pushed it in at the top, and as soon as it fell at an angle inward, he grabbed it, and flipped it horizontally. He then pulled it out and set it gently on the ground. "Nice. Where did you learn that?" Jack asked. "I didn't. I just figured it out as I went along." Heero said with a crooked grin. He then ducked down, and climbed in slowly. He then stuck an arm out and waved them inside. Jack went in second. He marveled at the large room and peeked through the cracks in the boxes, to see scientists talking amongst themselves, and plotting something; anything. Jack stuck his head out of the hole to see Melfina. "Come on. Be quiet." Jack warned her. She nodded, and crept in slowly. "Did anyone tell you that you are very flexible?" Jack asked. "No, but I expected it to come from you sometime or later." Melfina said smiling. "I thought so." Jack said smiling. Heero peeked around the corner, and flipped the visor back in its original position. "Listen." Heero said. Jack tuned in closely to see what was so important. "The project is very unstable, I tell him. He does not listen." "Ha. It is obvious he would not. He seems to be here only to serve himself." "I wish we could have shut it down before he locked us in here." "Yes, but if we had we surely would be asked to rebuild it and then be executed." "But it would be for a good cause." "Do you think the guards are listening right now?" "I would hope not. They are the most peculiar people I know." "Yes. They cannot laugh to a good joke or start conversation. They are silent always." "That is the way guards seems to be." "Not now. We must find a means of escape." "But how? These walls must be 2 inches thick!" "Maybe we should expect someone to come from the door and save us." "Wishful thinking. All we can do is sit and wait." "I propose the same idea." With the conversation ended, they all sat at a group of chairs and waited. They talked some more, but mostly just senseless chatter. "You hear that?" Heero asked leaning back into the group of three. "Sounds like they don't want to be here as much as I do." Jack said. "Maybe if we help them, they can tell use anything we need to know." Melfina said. Jack looked at her, and so did Heero. "It's just a suggestion." She said nervously. "And a damn good one." Jack said. "I say we jump out and tell them why we are here. They might not try anything, seeing as how they are prisoners in their own prison." Jack said. "Agreed." Heero confirmed. "One, two, three!" The three of them all jumped out, guns drawn and pointed directly at the scientists. "Wha-what is going on here. I demand an explanation." The scientist rose to his feet and stood firmly. "And so do we. Listen, we aren't here to cause trouble." Jack stated. "Ahem." Heero said with a little wave of his shoulders. "Well maybe a little, but we don't have any quarrel with you. In fact, we think you can help us." Jack stated. The scientists all looked at each other and whispered between them. "Now here's a thought. I'm going to put my gun away, and have it locked in this holster. Now, I'm going to trust you, so don't think I'm not fair." Jack said. He slipped his gun from his hand into the holster on his waist and dropped his hands. One scientist approached and stood directly in front of Jack. "You are a brave young man. Tell me, why are you here?" The scientist stood firmly and fearless. "I have little knowledge of this. Ask him." Jack said, pointing directly at Heero. Heero put his gun back and adjusted his standing. "We are here to investigate the destruction of several ships and stolen technology. The starbase also raises great suspicion." Heero elaborated. "Yes, yes. We can tell you exactly what is going on, but not here. They could be listening to what we are saying. You must get us out of here. Back the way you came!" One of them said. "We cant. The way we came is no longer accessible back down." Melfina said. "We will have to find a way out then." The other said. "But how?" Jack asked, shrugging his shoulders. "Look!" Heero said. He pointed to an air duct that sat on the far right side of the room. "In there?" Melfina asked. "It's the only way." Heero said. They took off the bars, and began to file inside. The insides were dank, dark, and very cold. "I'm getting chills." Melfina said. "It's an air duct. Hence the name, air." Jack explained. "Hey," Heero whispered from the front "we are getting to another room." Heero went prone and took out his binoculars. "What do you see?" Jack asked. Heero scanned the room immersively. "Two guards. I'd say, M90 Submachineguns." Heero reported. "Not bad. But not good either." Jack said worriedly. "I think we should take them down." Heero said. "Good idea. Do you think you can hit them from this range?" Jack asked. "Too far. I'll have to storm the room." Heero said. "Be my guest." Jack laughed. With one firm kick, Heero blasted into the room with an Iron Fist and hammered one of the guards with a bullet to the head. The other guard panicked and hit the button for the door. It opened slowly, and he fired wildly at Heero. Heero took cover behind a bench and potted plant, securing his cover. "Jack. Get in here damnit!" Heero yelled. Jack crawled through the ducts quickly, with the science team and Melfina behind him. He hopped down and pulled the pistol quickly from its holster. "He left, but I have a feeling he went to alert someone else." Heero said. "Grab his gun and get over here behind me." Jack rushed over and picked up the SMG, and dashed behind Heero. "Melfina, get them in a safe spot. You, with the mustache, get over here." Jack instructed. The scientist hustled over and crouched down. "Do you know how to use this?" he asked, handing him the SMB. "Are you kidding. I was born in Russia. We fight all the time in my country." He said, strapping it over his shoulder and holding it firmly. "You're from Earth?" Jack asked. "Of course." He stated. "Say, what's your name?" Jack asked. "Sergei." He said, and focused primarily on the door. "Come on, I think I head them in here." Jack heard. "Back against the wall." Heero instructed. They were all hidden, and the guards entered unsuspectingly. "Well I was sure they were here." He said. "What happened to Johnson?" on of them asked, and stooped next to the dead guard on the floor. Heero held up three of his fingers. He counted them down one at a time, until there were none left, and they all sprang out and began opening fire. Some of them went down, and the other three retreated back behind the door. "Alert the captain. We have intruders!" he shouted. One of them broke away from the crowd of attackers and ran down the hallway to meet his captain. Heero jumped out and shot one of the others, and when the other turned the corner he shot him too. "It's too late. All we have to do is get out of here and we're safe. We can't sneak out." Heero said, standing erect. "Well we better get out fast because I don't think it will be long before the guards are all over us." Jack said, and waved his hand for Melfina to come out with scientists. "Listen, Sergei, you are our main fire support. We need you for any stiff-ass resistance we come across." Jack said. "You fight well for a little one." Sergei complimented. "Thanks." Jack said, and they bolted out the door with the science team at their heels. "This way." Heero said, and they shuffled behind him as he ran down the hall. They came across a large hallway, which broke off into smaller ones. "Come on." Heero said, and they took a right down the smaller section of the halls. "Where are we now?" Jack asked. "We have to find an elevator. That's all I'm looking for." Heero explained, and they dashed down the hall and stopped at a dead end. "Damn. We have to find another way." Heero sighed, and they turned and ran to the entrance to the large hallway. "Ok then, we'll go that way." Heero pointed. Before they could even move, the sound of the intercom blared a horrid announcement. "Attention! Attention! Intruders located in research area. Special Forces have been deployed. All unidentified personnel will be shot on sight." "Oh no! They have sounded the alarm. Quickly, we must hide!" One of the scientists' said. "We need an elevator!" Heero yelled. "There!" Melfina exclaimed. Down the hall was an elevator that had just landed on the same floor. "Come on!" Heero said. They were about to run for it, but a horde of Soldiers just had just marched down the hall from the same direction they were going. "Hold your ground!" Heero said. Across from them was another hall that had the same kind of layout. "Melfina! Get the science team over there!" Heero instructed. She dashed across and backed against the wall quickly. Special Forces had them pinned down and were continuously firing. "How do we get to the elevator?" Jack asked. "How the hell would I know? The only way would be to take down all these damn guards. But they got us outnumbered and outgunned! We are stuck." Heero shouted. Then, all gunfire stopped. Everything went quiet. Heero and Jack looked at each other, and then back around the corner. "Steven's, take a small detachment." One of them yelled. Jack poked his head around the corner to see four soldiers break away from the squad and began to slowly come down the hallway. "This is our chance. Take em all down." Jack whispered. Sergei stood in position with the M90, and Melfina, Heero and Jack all stood quietly, waiting to strike.  
  
As soon as they were in range, they all jumped out and gunned them down. The other half of the squad opened fire again, and Heero leaped out and nabbed an M90 from one of the dead soldiers, and then he backed against the wall and into another small hallway. "Jack, make a run for the elevator! I'll hold them off!" Heero yelled from down the hall. "Got it! Ok Melfina listen up, I'm gonna make a run for it, so wait here until Heero says otherwise." Jack said. Melfina stood thinking for a moment, and then had a look of horror on her face as she remembered something the pirates had said to her while Jack was in stasis. "Wait Jack! Don't do it!" Melfina screamed. He didn't hear here, and turned the corner and ran, but Melfina leaped and tackled him back into the hallway. "What's the idea Mel? I'm coming back for you." Jack said. "Remember that bit of information I never told you?" Melfina asked. "Yeah. But look, this is a really bad time." Jack explained. "Well they told me that they would kill you later. They set this thing up to happen. If you would have run out there they said that you would be killed. I didn't know what they meant at first, but if you go, then you will die." Melfina said quickly. "Wow. So, that is what this is all about. Well, I guess we'll have to find another way. Oh, and where did you learn to pounce and tackle like that?" Jack asked. "You don't want to know." Melfina said, and she stood up with Jack. "Heero, we need to find another way." Jack yelled. "How?" he asked while turning the corner and firing a chain of bullets, and then jumping back and waiting to fire again. Jack searched frantically for items to use. "Melfina! Grab that fuel drum." He asked. A stack of fuel drums sat in the corner next to a pile of boxes. Melfina walked over and pushed it on its side, and then rolled it towards Jack. "Ok, tell Heero to get out of the way. I need to prep this thing." Jack said. "Heero! Listen! Get as far away from the hall as you can!" Melfina yelled. Jack heard a clamber of footsteps, and pushed the barrel in the hallway. "Heero! Heads up!" Jack yelled. Jack kicked the barrel down the hallway with as much force as he could exhilarate. Heero saw what he was doing, and fired at the canister with his weapon, therefore making explode into a fireball. He ducked against the back of the hallway, and waited as the fire spread out into an inferno throughout the halls of troops. The enemy withdrew into the back way, and waited. "Come on!" Jack yelled. They all dashed into the smoke and fire and crammed themselves into the elevator. "Run Heero!" Jack commanded. He jumped out and dashed for the elevator, leaping inside as it closed and then descended. "I don't think they had any idea what hit them." Jack said laughing and coughing at the same time. "Very clever. Where did you learn such things?" one of the scientists asked. "Broken Arrow." Jack said smiling. "I do not understand." One of them commented. "Nevermind. Heero, how do you presume we get out. They probably have this placed locked down and crawling with Special Forces." Jack asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Let me talk to Jim." Heero insisted, holding out his hand. Jack unclipped his radio, and gave it to Heero. "Jim, are you still there?" Heero asked. "This is Jim. What's going on. I heard some shooting. Is everything alright?" Jim asked. "Well, unfortunately we got ourselves into a bit of a mess. Can you somehow get a layout of this place and load it into one of our visors?" Heero asked. "I don't know. The place has such heavy coding that I don't know if I could." Jim explained. "The base is under lockdown. I'm sure they left all security files under an encryption, and everything that is not important vulnerable. Try it now." Heero commanded. "Very well." Jim said, and he began to hack the files from the computer network. "He's right. Everything, electric consumption, miscellaneous research, building diagnostics, everything! It is all under absolutely no surveillance." Jim said, leaning back and downloading the files. "Alright. I'm going to open a communication channel. If we speak, they can hear us. Don't say a word." Heero said. He flipped his visor down and waited as numbers and symbols filed themselves in order quickly. "Got it." Heero said. "Check this out Jack." Jack moved closer and took out the expansion cord. He hooked it to Heero's visor and looked at all the information Jim provided. "Nice work Jim. Check this out. They have ground levels thirty to thirty-five under total lockdown. Only the ground floor and one through fifteen are under normal security." Jack observed. "This means that." "It means what?" Melfina asked in a peculiar way. "It means they think we haven't gotten any lower then level twenty. The next elevator on level twenty is down the hall on the left. This is the security checkpoint area. Security should be tight." Jack flipped his visor back up and Heero did the same. "Now listen, I think that..." Jack was cut short by the elevator stopping suddenly. "What was that?" one of the scientist asked. "I think they are going to try and get us by cutting off the elevator." Heero explained. He looked up, and noticed a ceiling vent. He pushed himself up on the railing, and knocked it loose. "Everybody up." He demanded. Melfina went first, the science team second, and Jack last. Heero followed, and he put the vent back in its place. "I think we'll have to crawl down." Heero suggested. "Well, lets see where this goes exactly." Jack said, and watched the elevator intently. Soon, it began moving back down, and stopped on level twenty-one. "What do you think is going on?" Melfina asked. "Sh. Listen." Heero said. "Open the door and surrender. We said open the door!" the sound came from a Special Forces Marine. "I bet they think we're in the elevator." Jack said laughing. Soon, several gunshots let out. The elevator soon had several holes being blown into it, and gunfire rang through the shaft. The elevator couldn't take much more of a pounding. Soon, everything went dead. The only noise they heard were the sounds of each other breathing heavily. "Plant it." Jack heard faintly. Soon, an idea popped into his head, and he looked frightened. "Oh shit, go up!" Jack said. They began climbing as fast as they could go, but it want very fast since a group of eight were doing it at the same time. "What exactly is going on?" Heero asked panting. "They're gonna blow it! They think we're inside, and if we somehow managed to survive, then they might as well blow the damn thing!" Jack explained. Their conversation was soon interrupted by the sound of a large explosion, and several metal pieces flew into the air to meet them. One his Jack's back, and the other hit Heero in his waist. The others were tiny bits that just bounced off everyone else. "What the hell was that?" Heero asked, now dangling from one arm. "It's called a bomb. You know, boom?" Jack said with a bit of aggravation. "Well, I guess somebody on the other end doesn't like us too much." Heero gasped, then grabbing the cord with both of his hands. "Let's slide down. I think we can get to level one if the climb the rest of the way." Jack explained. "Very well." Heero agreed. They began a slow ascent downward, and when they passed the door that had been blown to ashes, they looked through it, only to see several hallways and rooms. All personnel had left the area. They kept going, and soon had reached the very bottom of the shaft. "I think we should be at level five." Jack said, helping the others down. "Well, I guess you could say we are home free." Heero said quickly. "I don't know. I think security is nominal now, and that everyone is back to their original positions." Jack explained. "Well, why can we not just blast through?" Sergei insisted. "Too risky. Let's see what's outside before we get too involved with out surroundings." Heero picked up a piece of metal, and bent it in the fashion of a crowbar. He then clipped it into the door, and forced it open. "What can you see?" Melfina asked. "I see nothing. No guards, no scientists, no nothing! But there is a dark room down the hall, and a lot of stairs" Heero observed. "Ok then. Get that door open and we can get the hell out of here." Jack said. "Hold on. I think we should still be a little stealthy at least." Heero insisted. "Very well." Jack agreed, and slipped the gun in his holster and never looked at it from that point on. Heero opened the door enough for them to slip out unnoticed, and then they moved into the dark room with quiet footsteps and light breathing. When they reached the door, Heero slid it open and held out his weapon to see if anything was inside. When he spotted nothing, the rest of them moved in, and began discussing their next move. "So far I think we have been lucky." Jack said, sitting in a rolling chair. "I don't think that." Heero said. "So far it's been pure genius that we've gotten this far." Jack rolled across the room and positioned himself at another desk. "How about this. I take a look around and see what is out there?" Melfina suggested, adjusting herself upright. "You think that's a good idea?" Heero asked. "I think it's just fine." Jack said. Melfina nodded and smiled. "Very well. We got your back just in case anything comes your way." Heero reassured her. She stepped out into the small hallway, the lights shinning plainly against her black outfit. She walked to the corner of the hall, and Jack had his pistol drawn and ready for anything to happen. She peeked around the small, attaching halls, to another large one, only this one had more activity. Guards patrolled between smaller halls, and clearly blocked them off from the other side. Melfina walked back to the small room, and leaned on the doorway frame. "So, how is it?" Jack asked. "Well, there are several guards. I think if we tried going through them, we could sound the alarm again." Melfina said worriedly. They all sat there, wondering how they could cut across to the other side. "Hey Mel, is the ceiling dark? Is it really shaded up there?" Jack asked. Melfina took a moment to think. "Yes. It has a small rafter up there and I couldn't see anything." Melfina commented. "Good, good. Hey, you guys, do you think that anyone on this level knows that you have escaped or anything?" Jack asked. "No. I would think not." Sergei concluded. "Melfina, how is your grip?" Jack asked. "My grip? Well I think I can hold on to anything just fine." Melfina said curiously. "Good. Guys, I think that we can solve this problem, simply by climbing on the pipes up in the rafters." Jack explained. "What are you proposing exactly?" Heero asked. "Well, the science team can easily just walk past the guards, and they would look like normal employees. We can hold on to the pipes up in the rafters and crawl across the room, over the guards." Jack said. "Not a bad idea." Melfina commented. "Good, then it's settled. Scientists, when you begin walking, guards will likely stop you on the way. That is when we will boost ourselves onto the pipes and begin moving." Jack said, giving hand motions to show off as an example. After talking it over, the plan was executed. The three of them waited around the corner, as the scientist walked down the hall slowly but yet a fast pace. Soon, as Jack had suspected, two guards stopped them. Heero ran out immediately, crouching down and putting his hand out. Jack ran out and upped himself into the rafters and clung to the pipe. The put his legs around it and began to crawl through the rafters unsuspectingly. The guards continued to question them as Melfina was soon lifted up and did the same as Jack. Heero jumped and made a jump off of the wall, and grabbed the pipes and wrapped his own legs around them. They were all firmly attached to the freezing pipes. They were used to circulate air throughout the complex. Obviously a low budget addition. Melfina clung desperately to the pipes, since this was her first mission. She had no real combat experience. This made it seem futile for her existence, but her commitment and determination showed through. They crawled slowly, sweat dripping from their foreheads, also nervous about the guards right below just might look up. They had to be quiet to get this done correctly. Things seemed to take forever on the ceiling. The scientists were already across the hall, and were just around the corner. The three infiltrees were only three-quarters of the way there. Heero head was wet with sweat, and one drop fell and landed on the floor. A guard stopped dead, and looked at it. He peered down closely. Heero and the others stood perfectly still. If they didn't move, they would blend in with their surroundings. He looked up at the ceiling. All he saw was black, but was mysteriously intrigued at what came down from the roof. He ignored it, and continued on his rounds. Heero sighed, and they moved on. They reached the end of the hallway, and slowly, but quietly, jumped down and ducked behind the corner. When they were all accounted for, they made a dash for the adjacent hallway, and scampered down the stairs. They were in the lobby area now, and peeked around the corner to see what other defenses awaited them. Nothing was there. There were no cameras, no guards, no scientists, no nothing! They had expected a welcoming party waiting for them, but instead got a clear cut across the lobby floor. One of the scientists was about to turn the corner and run, but Heero grabbed his arm and turned him around to face him. "Don't even move." Heero said. He peeked back around the corner, and flipped his visor down. He could see heat signatures all over the lobby, in laser form. "They have infrared beams." Heero told Jack with a sigh. "I knew it looked to easy." Jack said. "How do we get across?" Jack added. "Well, let me figure that out." Heero said. He took the binoculars they had been sharing, and lifted them up. "I see a panel on the other side. It must be the switch for the lasers." Heero said. "What was your first clue?" Jack sarcastically noted. "Listen, one of us will need to cross that floor and deactivate the lasers." Heero explained. "Now which one of us will go is the question." Jack looked around, and the science team all sighed. "I will." Melfina perked up. "You will? Are you sure you can make it?" Jack asked. "Listen, for once Jack, would you stop being so protective of me. I can handle myself as well as you can. Trust me." Melfina begged him. "I trust you." Jack said. He grabbed her hand, and cupped them in his own. "Get those lasers offline." Jack told her. "I will." She responded. She got up, and stood ready to maneuver across the floor. "Here." Heero said. He took the goggles off of his head, and handed them to her. "If you need to see what to do, you these. Just watch the lasers." Heero explained. "I've got it under control." She said winking. She flipped the visor into IR Mode, and slowly walked until she was in front of the first beam. The others could see nothing, but she could see every strand that stood between them and freedom. She ducked under the first laser, and then brought a leg over the next one. She moved herself, still ducking down, across the second and third beam. She laid flat on her back, and crawled under two more. She bent her body backwards, making her move on her hands and legs. She stepped over the next, while staying under all beams above. Jack clenched his teeth, and wished that she were already on the other side. Just then, the visor turned fuzzy and went black. Melfina couldn't see at all! "Uh guys, I think something happened." She shouted. "Oh damn." Jack said. He grabbed the radio and called Jim up. "Jim! We are in deep shit. We need you to pull us out." Jack said quickly. "What's the matter?" Jim asked. "It's Melfina. The goggles went out just as she was crossing a pool of motion detection lasers." Jack explained. "Jesus." Jim said, slapping himself in the face. Jim hesitated for a moment, and tried to think of something to do. "Ok. I'll try to establish a direct uplink to the visor. I don't know if this will work but I'm sure that it will." Jim said. He rolled his chair across the room and sat at a different computer this time. He kept typing and typing, trying desperately to find a way to fix a serious problem. "Hurry Jim." Jack said. He was bringing up windows and closing them. Numbers were flashing across the screen, and he kept going until he just about snapped under the intense mental pressure. Jack, Heero, and the scientist waited patiently, tapping their feet and twiddling their thumbs. Heero heard footsteps in the hallway, and hugged the wall until he reached the edge. A guard was coming down looking for anything he could find. Heero made a hand motion to Sergei to walk over to him. He scurried over, and Heero whispered in his ear. "Listen, try and get that guy to leave." Heero asked. He pointed around the corner, and Sergei nodded. "Good evening. Might I ask why you are following routines here?" Sergei asked, coming out from hiding and trying to cover who he was really working for. "Orders from the captain." The guard said stopping. "And what assumption might the captain have that anything is down here?" Sergei questioned. "Listen, just let me complete my rounds and I can go on elsewhere." The guard said, shoving Sergei out of the way. Heero popped around the corner, and shot the guard in the head directly. He wobbled, and toppled down the stairs, making several thud sounds. "Get his gun!" Heero ordered. Sergei picked it up and tossed it to Heero. "Cmon. We have to hide the body." Heero recommended. They dragged it and pulled it around the corner. Jack turned around to see what had happened. "What the hell did you guys do?" Jack asked with questionable reasoning. "I think they are looking for us." Heero explained with a simple phrase. "Markis, is everything alright down there?" Jack heard. "See." Heero said shrugging. Jack wasted no time. He grabbed the M90 Heero held in his hands and shot the guard until he too hit the floor and fell a few steps. "Ok, now I think we are in trouble." Heero said. A team of two came looking for their missing comrades, and instead found Jack standing over their dead friend. "Sound the alarm!" one of them yelled. Jack managed to shoot one, but the other escaped up the stairs in an effort to warn the others. "Guys, what's going on?" Melfina asked at the sound of gunshots ringing in her ears and some mildly aggressive conversation also catching on. "Uh, well, we seem to be in a bit of problem." Jack replied. He backed against the wall, and it wasn't long before more guards appeared, slowly descending down the stairs. "Heero, grab the damn gun!" Jack yelled. Heero rolled and grabbed the weapon, then backing against the other end of the doorway. The guards tried desperately to hit him, but missed. Both Jack and Heero returned fire, and managed to bring a few more down. When a gun hit the floor, they picked it up and tossed it to a scientist. He then joined in the fight, shooting and ducking all at once. Heero turned the corner again to fire, but one of the guards took deadly aim. He shot, and hit Heero in the leg. Heero toppled over, right in the doorway, vulnerable to anything that was coming. Jack grabbed him and pulled him out of the way quickly. While doing this, Jack was also exposed, and they shot and hit him in the shoulder. As soon as Heero was in the safety zone, Jack grabbed his right shoulder, which now left a large red spot on the dark cloth. "Come on Jim." Jack yelled over the comm. "Almost got it." Jim said with a rushed depth to his voice. After confirming the code, and getting an uplink, the visor became visual again. "I can see!" Melfina proclaimed. She did more maneuvering and ducking. She rolled under a few more, and jumped in-between the last few. She had reached the other side, and she rushed over to the panel and quickly deactivated the lasers by using the code that appeared automatically on her visor when she looked at the controls. "Jack, Heero! Hurry up!" Melfina yelled. All she heard were gunshots. "Jack? Guys?" Melfina yelled. There was no voice response. The scientist ran out, and Jack had Heero hunched on his shoulder. Heero's arm was around him, and he was barely able to walk by himself. Melfina rushed over, and helped hoist Heero over her shoulders. They were halfway out, when the guards came rushing back around to finish the job. Jack let go of Heero, and angrily pulled the trigger of the weapon, killing a few guards, while the others got back behind their cover. Jack continued to shoot, until he heard a click in his cartridge. He dropped the weapon, and ran for the doorway, Melfina already ahead of him. They were exiting through the glass doors, and scampering out into the streets. Jack got outside as the doors closed, and looked around for a place to hide. "Hey! Heero! Guys! Over here!" Quatre yelled, while waving his arms in the air to grab their attention. Heero smirked, and Jack was overjoyed that they had come to get them. The science team was loaded on first, and Heero second, and then Melfina and Jack. "I see you picked up a few freeloaders." Duo commented. "They're with us." Jack said. "Now drive!" The van took off at a high speed, away from the building. "I can't tell you guys what perfect timing that was." Jack said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Well actually, we were waiting for you guys the whole time. We expected a bad exit, so we were sent to get you out if anything happened." Trowa responded while driving. Heero was holding his leg, and groaning at the pain. "Geeze Heero. You've been hit with a bullet in the leg before. Why is it so bad now?" Duo said, turning in his seat. "I don't think you understand Duo when it comes to three or four bullets, bigger then my finger, being pumped into you. That last one you gave him was a pistol bullet." Jack explained. "Hey how did you know." Duo said, his voice trailing off. "Don't ask." Jack explained. About halfway through the trip back, Melfina rested her arm on Jack's shoulder, only to feel it was a bit wet. She turned on the light in the van, and saw Jack was bleeding near his shoulder. She gasped loudly, and began to hesitate. "Oh my god. Jack, are, are you alright? Is it bad?" she asked several times. "I'm.fine." Jack lied. It hurt badly, but he didn't want to sound like the only wimp there, so he swallowed the pain and hoped for the best. "Are you sure that." Melfina asked. "Yes Mel. I'm sure. It's not as bad as it looks. Trust me." Jack said. She wouldn't be fooled so easily by his dodgey remarks. "I'm going to look at it when we get back anyway." Melfina said with assertiveness. "Fine, fine." Jack said, clenching his teeth at the pain. He felt dizzy at first, kind of off and on, but it went away after a while. "Mel." Jack said. He felt everything spin and he nearly toppled over. "Yeah Bran - oh my god. You don't look very good." Melfina said. "No, really. I'm fine." Jack gasped, and he felt the car seat hit him in the face, and he fell asleep. 


	6. Familiar Suroundings

Chapter 5: Familiar Surroundings  
  
When he awoke, he found that he was in bed. It wasn't his room. He was familiar with what it was. It's was Melfina's room, and it just so happened she was asleep in a chair nearby, her head going back and forth every moment she thought of something new. He sat up at first, and found that his shoulder was bandaged. He was only wearing his pants, and he sighed and fell back into the warmth of the blankets. Melfina tossed, when she heard Jack hit the bed again. She opened her eyes and rubbed them each with her fists. She looked over at Jack, and it looked like he was still asleep, but he turned his head to face her, indicating he was now awake. "How bad am I?" he asked. "Not too bad, but you lost a bit of blood, and you probably cant feel your shoulder now can you?" she asked. "No." Jack said, thumping it a couple of times, with no feeling emanating from it. "Well you know me. This isn't the first time I've been shot." Jack said smiling. Melfina returned the smile, and stood up, then walking towards the bed. "We ah, got pretty worried when you passed out." Melfina said, sitting next to Jack. "Sorry to worry you. I think I'm tired of being the hero." Jack admitted. "I think once is enough for the day." Melfina said, stroking his hair. "Hey, when is the last time I got to wrap my arms around you?" Jack asked. "Two days ago." Melfina said laughing. "Well alright then." Jack said, pulling her by the arm into the bed and letting her fall on top of him. "Hey." Jack said. He kissed her, and then rolled her over, so that she lay down comfortably on the sheets. He laid down himself, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You know Jack," Melfina said smiling. "Yeah?" Jack asked. "I think you are one of the most romantic people I know." Melfina said, laughing once more. "Sadly I don't know who to thank for that." Jack said, not keeping a smile back. "Hm." Melfina said in a low tone. "What is it?" Jack asked. "Why me? Why did you choose me? I still don't know what makes me any different from anyone else you've met." Melfina said, rolling over, putting her head on her hands and her legs dangling over her. "I think I have told you a million times." Jack said, smiling and sighing at the same time. "Tell me again." Melfina asked, becoming more interested in the conversation. "Well, it's like." Jack began, but was cut off from the door opening suddenly. Quatre stood there, blinking at first, trying to assess the situation, and then came to his senses. "Ah, I'm sorry. Did I come at a bad time?" he asked, seeing Melfina and Jack both sprawled on the bed. "Oh no. What's happening?" Jack asked. "Well, we are happy to report that we managed to get the rest of the bullets out of his leg, but he will be out of commission for a couple of days. In the mean time, I think he should be fine." Quatre reported. He looked around, and nodded his head. "Well, I'm glad to here that. So how are things on the other end?" Jack asked. "The other end of what?" Quatre said in a very confused manner. "It's a metaphor. You know, how are things? What is going on in your life?" Jack said, explaining it to him elaborately. "Oh, well, alright I guess. It's been hectic, since you guys got caught, I think all Trowa did was pace back and forth until he recommended we should be waiting for you guys." Quatre told him, easing a smile. "Well I'm glad someone still likes us." Jack said, scratching the back of his head and sitting all the way up. Quatre was turning to leave, just as Jack called him back. "Hey Q, can I ask you a question?" Jack yelled. "Sure." Quatre responded. "Can I shake your hand?" Jack asked. Quatre didn't look at all serious. "Sure, I guess." Quatre said with intrigue. Jack stood up, and walked over to him. They were about the same height, so it looked like they were both the same age. Jack extended his hand, and Quatre took it. Jack patted his shoulder, and Quatre walked out awkwardly, smiling as he did. "I wonder why you wanted to do that?" Melfina asked. "That man and the rest of his team are great. You have to understand we would have been in trouble if it hadn't been for Heero. He got us out of there alive. You have to understand that you and I might be dead, and we would have never gotten those scientists out of there." Jack said, walking back and forth across the room, giving examples and explanations. "By the way, what happened to the science team? Did yo guys learn anything?" Jack asked. Melfina laid back, and put her hands behind her head. "They told us something very important, but I think they could explain it better than I could." Melfina implied. Jack put a shirt on, and changed back into his jeans. "So are you coming with me?" Jack asked Melfina. "Well where are you going?" she replied. "To ask some questions and see how we are doing exactly." Jack said. She groaned, and turned herself into the bed, and lifted the covers over her head, and stayed still. "I didn't get a very good nights rest. I think I'll sleep a little but longer." She said. Jack went to the side of the bed, leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you later." Jack reassured. "Hm." Melfina replied quietly. He stood back up, and walked out the door and didn't look back. He saw that most of the debris had been cleaned up, and heard a bunch of clanking coming from the engine room. He walked down the halls, which were not bent anymore, and were now looking as good as new. Boxes were stacked with objects that needed to be thrown away. He got closer to the door, and opened it up to see Gene and Jim working on the engines, while Trowa watched with his arms crossed. "This has got to go." Gene said, throwing an object out of the cluttered engine. "Where the hell did this come from? What is this, a metal waterbottle? How much did that cost, like $400?" Gene asked, not holding back from throwing things out. Jack laughed, and Trowa turned around to see who it was. "So uh, what are Tweedledee and Tweedledum doing?" Jack asked. "Well, by the looks of it they are breaking more then they are fixing." Trowa responded. "Aint that the truth." Jack smiled, and walked over to where Gene was tossing more items out. "Have you ever seen any of this stuff before?" Jack asked. "Not in my life." Gene said without emphasis. "Then ask Jim for help." Jack recommended. "Yeah I guess I could let him do it." Gene said, wiping his hands clean and getting down from the ladder. "Hey Jim! She's all yours man." Gene yelled. Jim stopped his welding, and lifted the visor up. He took it off and walked over to where Gene had left off, and started digging through the jungle of wires and parts. "You guys did a hell of a good job last night." Gene complimented. "Thanks. So what did we learn from the science team?" Jack asked. "Those guys? A lot. They said so much I lost them about halfway through the explanation." Gene said, turning his back to look at Jim, and then ahead of him. "Ok. I'll go see them in a minute. Where can I find Heero?" Jack asked. "He is in one of the spare room." Gene said, pointing down the hall. "Hey, we're gonna get the ship fixed up today. We'll lift the nose of it and get it repaired and everything. That Duo is pretty handy with mechanics." Gene said, strolling off. Jack followed the hall until he came across the room that had a piece of yellow tape on the door. This was supposed to indicate where they could find Heero in case they needed to. He let the door slide open, and saw Heero lying on the bed, his arm hanging off the side, and snoring loudly. Jack approached the nearby chair, and turned it to face Heero. He sat down, and looked around. Apparently they had cleaned and scoured the room for any signs of loose metal or debris. Heero turned his head, and blinked. He opened one eye, and then the other, and then the other. Afterwards he sat up and opened both of his eyes. Jack was sitting there staring at him, and it made Heero jump when he saw him. "Jesus. You're always sneaking up on me." Heero gasped. "Well I guess that's just what I do." Jack sighed. "So how is your leg?" "Fine, I guess." "You guess. So you're not exactly sure? Let me take a look at it." Jack requested. Heero tipped his right leg out of the bed, and Jack looked at how red the bandages were. "God. You must have had a little bit more lead than usual pumped into you." Jack examined. "At least they didn't have to chop my damn leg off." Heero laughed, pulling himself all the way into bed again. "So how are you feeling?" Heero asked. "Not too bad, not too good. Neutral, you could say. I'm just glad I can still walk and move around. It's not like I haven't been shot before." Jack said, standing up. "So where do we go from here?" Heero asked. "From here?" "Yeah." "I'm not sure. I'm gonna go see the science team, and see what they have for me." Jack said, pointing at the door. "Hey Jack." Heero called back. "Yeah." Jack asked. "By the sounds of what they said, there is some pretty weird shit going on." Heero said. Jack looked eager to see what everyone was so crazy about. He hopped it wouldn't end in the annihilation of them all. Jack observed the halls, which were now sparkling with a shine, and wondered when the ship would be getting out of here. The disturbance at the complex wouldn't go unnoticed, and he knew that soon they would be looking for whoever got inside and then out, with the only viable source of information. He wondered of course, who they would send and what would happen. He saw the doors in which the scientists were staying. He stood directly in front of it, and walked forward as the doors opened, and the five of them turned their heads. They were all sitting down in a circle with chairs, and other objects for them to sit on, piled around each other for them to sit on. At the sight of Jack, one of them stood, and walked over to him. "Very good job last night. Very good indeed. Where did you learn to do such things?" Jack paused, and then answered. "When you have lived with these people for as long as I have, then you get the knack of it." Jack said, grinning and yet feeling on edge. "I have never seen anyone take a shot and live." The other commented. "That I can explain." Jack interrupted him. "That suit had built in body armor. That shot could have killed me, ok?" Jack explained, and then let the others speak. "Well, very good to see that you are alive." Sergei joyfully said. "Uh, the others said you had something to say about the things that went on inside that place?" Jack mentioned. The scientists looked at each other, and nodded. "What goes on in there, will more then likely affect what goes on outside of there." One of them spoke up. "How so?" Jack asked, fidgeting. "They have developed something new. I am not happy to say that it is primarily our fault. This is a new weapon called the sonic cannon. The device has the ability to emit sound waves that can destroy anything. It was banned by the city council, so they took it into hiding. When a business that owned that building went bankrupt, they purchased it, and no one thought anything of it. The council has too much to worry about to bother with one more company, so no effort has been made to investigate." Sergei explained. There was silence for a moment, and then Jack raised the next question. "What does this have to do with Spacecraft being destroyed, Spacestation 'Harkin' exploding, and stolen technology?" The scientists all looked around the room, and one spoke up. "The council had very important people aboard those spacecraft, such as military officials, presidents of major funding corporations, and more. The station was a major defensive network, and if they found out about this, then they would destroy the operation for sure. The technological demand for the project got bigger and bigger. We needed wave dampeners, neural net electronics, and shock controllers, all which we could not build on our own. So they stole. And soon, it ended in madness at this new order in which the corporation was hoping to establish." Sergei wrapped up his summary of the recent events, and looked at Jack. "We left because it was purely chaos they were trying to create. Not order." Jack thought for a moment, and pieced it all together. "I suppose you have a reason to leave. I suppose that is why he had you all bundled up in that room." Jack wondered. "Exactly. But now, our freedom is preserved, thanks to you and your brave friends." The other said, standing and patting Jack on the back. Jack couldn't help but think of this newfound information, and figured it would lead to the cost of something, but he didn't know what.  
  
His thoughts were soon interrupted by the door behind him opening. Gene stood there, looking dirty with grease and dust. "Hey, we're going to get the lift, I just thought I'd let you know." Gene said, looking around and nodding his head. "The lift? What the hell is that?" Jack asked. "The truck we're going to use to lift the ship up off the ground." Gene explained. "Oh. But how are you gonna do that? This ship must way several tons." Jack asked. "I don't know. Maybe we'll figure something out." Gene responded, then leaving Jack to deal with things on his own. Soon enough, Jack found himself doing things as he always did when there was nothing else to do. Sleep. He went back to sleep in his own room, tired enough from the fact that getting shot and barely making it out alive can be tiring. He dreamt that they were soaring, high above the clouds of the atmosphere of some distant planet. Then, panic rose, and explosions erupted. The ship was torn apart by fire and shrapnel, and Jack screamed as he gasped for air in space. He then woke up in a cold sweat, and looked around to see everything was fine. He wondered whether this was a premonition or a revolution, but whatever it was, it scared him to death. He heard distant shouting, and looked at this clock. It read that it was past noon, and he figured Gene had returned with the lift. He got up, gathered his thoughts, and walked outside. They had the bottom of the ship chained to a crude version of a forklift. "Ok, one, two, three!" Gene yelled. They put it under the ship, and lifted. Some of it went up, while it remained tilted on its side. "Ok, that's good. Hold it right there." Gene said, waving his hand down. When Jack approached, Gene looked to see who it was, and walked over to him. "So this is your bright idea?" Jack asked, pointing at the tilted ship and nearly laughing. "Sort of. We'll have to do every side individually, so it may take a month before we get it fully repaired. But I expect to be off this rock in two weeks or less." Gene smirked. "Sounds good to me. Hey listen, when you're finished, can we talk?" Jack asked. "Yeah sure. What about?" Gene looked a bit uneasy. "Ah, I'll tell you when you're finished." Jack said, looking at the hulking machine, and then behind him as he turned that direction and walked off. Four hours later, Gene had relieved the machine of its duties, and Trowa jumped out of the driver's seat, all of them heading towards the ship. The sides that they had been working on, looked better then ever. Jack checked it out before heading in, and thought that the ship would be ready to go very soon. All they had to do was fix the engine, clean the mess, and get the hell out before those people sent someone to kill the ones who had broken in, and stole their team of the greatest minds. After entering the ship, things began to quiet down. Heero had probably fallen asleep, Gene was playing cards with Jim while Chris watched, and Duo had crashed on the couch, and was now snoring very loud. Quatre was reading a book, and Trowa was curled up with a pillow on a nearby chair. Jack didn't know where Melfina was. Maybe she was in her room or something. He went looking for her, and couldn't find anything. "Hey Gene, have you seen Melfina anywhere?" Jack asked. "Last I saw she was in her room." Gene said, laying a few cards down and drawing some more. "I can't find her anywhere." Jack proclaimed. Gene turned in his chair. "Are you sure she isn't outside?" Gene asked. "I don't think she would be." Jack explained. Gene shrugged. "She has to be around here somewhere. She couldn't have just disappeared." Gene said. Jack thought for a second, and then took off down the hall. Chris looked up, and followed him. "Where are you going?" Chris yelled. "Come on. I have a bad feeling about this." Jack said. He turned the corner, and ran towards Heero's room. "Are you sure he's sleeping?" Jack asked. "Yeah." Chris acknowledged. Jack walked to the door of the room, and when it slid open, he saw exactly what he thought he would see. Things were strewn everywhere, the bed sheets were wrinkled in a mass of cloth, and it was a very awkward sight. "Oh man. What happened?" Chris asked. The minute he saw everything, Jack was out of there. "Hey where ya goin?" Chris yelled. "To go get them." Jack replied. It was a simple answer, and Chris wasted no time in following him. "Wait up!" Chris yelled. Jack didn't look back. He kept running frantically, as if he was trying to catch up with someone. He dashed out of the ship through the hole that was previously made. "Where the hell are you going at this time of the night!?" Chris yelled. Jack didn't answer. He took off across the dirt fields that placed them between the city of monotony. Chris jumped out and took off after Jack. Sooner or later he caught up with him. "Where are we going?" Chris panted while still running. "To that building." Jack said, slowing down to a semi-walking pace. "Why are you going back? Why would you want to?" Chris asked. "Look at the evidence Chris. Melfina and Heero disappear. Who went along with me on that mission? Those two. They know too much, so obviously they sent someone out here to catch us. They know everything about that operation obviously. I need to find a way to get them out. Are you going to help me or what?" Jack asked. Chris had to make a decision. He thought for a moment, and then looked up at Jack. "I suppose I could. The least you could have done was brought a gun." Chris said with a little edginess. Jack smiled, and they walked towards the city. It was dark when they reached the city. Obviously it was the perfect time to sneak about and get inside. "How did you get in last time?" Chris asked. "The back. But I'm not taking the back." Jack said. He hopped over the fence, and saw that the same trucks were parked outside just like before. "Chris, you see that gas can over there? The one gallon? Bring it to me." Jack said. He jumped into the back, and as he had thought, these were munitions trucks. Not much, but there were pistols, flares, and semi-autos. But there was no ammo for any of them. "Hey Jack?! This is what you wanted right?" Chris asked, dumping the gas can in plain view behind him. "Yeah. I was kind of hoping we could find something to ignite it with." Jack explained. Chris looked around, but didn't see anything that could emit fire. "Ok, Chris, scratch that. Follow me." Jack smiled sinisterly. He hopped out of the back and walked up to the driver's side of the truck. The keys were still in the ignition slot. "Yes." Jack said with a grin, opening the door quickly and jumping in. "Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute." Chris stated, backing up. "You aren't gonna." Chris had a look of despair spread all over his face, and Jack seemed to be enjoying by just thinking about it. "You are right on the money." Jack said with an enthusiastic tone and broad smile. Jack looked for the keys of the truck, and found them in the dashboard. He took them out and placed them into the ignition. He turned them with force, and the truck sputtered and growled, and soon came to life. Chris stepped back and was about four or five meters when he gave the ok, and Jack let a rip with the accelerator, smashing it to the floor as hard as he could, then engine letting a roar as the truck lurched forward. He turned the wheel to the right, and sped strait for the wall of the building. He held steadfast to the wheel, and concentrated on the right moment to bail out of the truck. He was mere feet from the wall, when he jumped out of the truck as quickly as he could. He hit the pavement just as hard as the truck hit the hall. The inertia was the main cause of why hitting the ground hurt so badly. He was almost certain his arm was broken, but it was most likely just bruised badly. The truck went on its dead on course for the wall, and when it impacted it with such force, it exploded in a fireball, and the wall had a hole about the size of a manhole indented in its hard lair. The rest was cracked or was crumbing, and the reinforced concrete was baring its steel wires. Jack sat up with a daze, and rubbed his head while seeing two of everything. Chris ran up to him and crouched down, checking him over, making sure he wasn't hurt too seriously. "Jack, I swear, that was a crazy-ass stunt." Chris said, hauling him up off of the concrete ground, and back onto his feet. "Hey, what's the damage?" Jack asked dizzily. "Bad enough." Chris commented while looking at the hole, and laughing to himself at the sight of a totaled vehicle and a large, cracked circle showing itself on the wall of the building. "Come on." Chris commanded, and they set out through the hole and inside the familiar surroundings of the mysterious complex. 


	7. We Meet Again

Chapter 6: We Meet Again  
  
Everything seemed to be the way they had left it. The lobby was in tiptop shape, and the lasers were not activated. In fact, nobody was there! There were no guards, no bodies, no guns, no nothing! It would seem as if everyone was called back for some reason. "What the hell." Jack started, but stopped as soon as he looked up the flight of stairs and saw nothing. He walked up slowly, and when he reached the top, he peeked around the corner. There was no one there. Jack through that the situation was getting even stranger. Did they want it to be easy for them to rescue the others? "Hey Jack, don't you think that-" Chris began, but stopped as soon as Jack raised his hand and silenced him. "Listen." Jack said. Chris stopped talking, and Jack moved closer to the edge of the wall, trying to listen to what he heard. He heard footsteps, and some clanking noises. He didn't see anything when he turned the corner to look, but the noises were coming from that hallway. "What is that?" Jack asked. He turned to Chris, who shrugged his shoulders. Jack kept listening, and then to noise stopped abruptly. Both of them listened harder, wondering if they were just imagining it or not. The noise started again, only this time it sounded like a grunt in a low voice, and then they heard a click, which sounded like the loading of a firearm. Jack shook his head, and wondered if it was just his mind thinking too hard. But he realized what was going on when he heard the steps getting closer. Jack felt hot air blow across his face, and it smelled terrible. He heard heavy breathing, almost right in front of his face. "Chris." Jack said, standing there, frozen in his place with fear. Jack was suddenly picked up off of the ground and tossed across the room. He hit the wall with his back, and toppled over, his brain thinking quickly, trying to assess what had just happened. Chris looked in astonishment, and that feeling was turned to fear when he felt something gliding around him quickly. He wondered if it was the wind or not, but soon he was picked up, and thrown halfway down the hallway. He hit the floor after flying all the way from where he was previously standing, bruised on his back and sprawled on the floor. He sat up quickly, and looked around with his eyes large, thinking several things at once. He looked down the hall at Jack, who was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall. Jack didn't sit for long. He was thrown to his side by some mysterious force, and then knocked backwards. He was taking several blows, and each one gave him a sense that whatever was hitting him was obviously a replacement for those simple guards that they had encountered before. He couldn't tell what was hitting him at all. What he felt were simple punches to his face and his stomach. He staggered backwards, unable to meet the attacker face to face. Jack heard a laugh, and then the invisible menace spoke. "You do not fight well when you're blind, human." Jack was wondering if this person had either smoked too many cigarettes, or was naturally this way, but their voice was so low and husky, that it seemed as if it wasn't even human. "Who are you?" Jack asked, looking around quickly. He might be able to follow their voice and then attack them. "Why might you want to know? How about we make a deal. I'll promise to fight fair, if whenever you are about to die at my hands, you beg for your life." The figure laughed. "Deal, you son of a bitch." Jack said, narrowing his eyes and raising his fists to a fighting position. "Jack, what in blazes is going on?" Chris asked, standing up and walking back down the hallway. "Macho boy wants to fight. I hope you brushed up on your skills." Jack commented, his fists still raised and his heart pounding, thinking that by the way he called them, "human," that this thing wasn't human himself. "Very well." the figure agreed, and Jack saw disruptions occur right in front of him. Whoever it was, they were de-cloaking, and when Jack got a good look at whatever this thing was, his assumptions were right. It wasn't human at all. "Oh my god." Chris gasped, getting a clear view of it, panicking because they had never met an alien race in the flesh, let alone have to fight with one that was obviously stronger, and probably faster then they were. The alien was tall, about six and a half feet or so, with broad shoulders and strong legs. It had armor plates on its arms, chest, and legs, making him look like a warrior from ancient times. He had no mouth, but his eye's glowed when he spoke. He had some kind of projectile weapon on his back, and a deformed sword of some kind sheathed at his side. "No weapons, right?" Jack asked. The creature stood for a moment, and then answered his question.  
  
"I fight honorably. No weapons, just melee combat." The creature replied. Jack shifted uneasily, wondering if this thing had the upper hand because he was bigger and probably a lot stronger. The creature lunged at them both, his hands outstretched. Jack and Chris dodged him by sidestepping. He was quick on the rebound, and he swirled around and grabbed Jack's shoulder. He slammed his head against Jack's face, making him stammer backwards. He then began to strangle Jack with both of his hands, Jack desperately grabbing his attacker's hands, and trying to pry them apart. Chris leaped and slammed his fists onto the creature's head, making it release its grip on Jack and drop him to the floor. The thing turned its ugly head, and glared at Chris. Chris backed up, knowing this was gong to be a very rough battle. When the creature was about to pounce, Chris noticed that it suddenly stopped. The creature stopped, waved his head back and forth, and fell over face-first. Jack stood behind it, holding a dented fire extinguisher. "Thankfully I don't play by the rules." Jack commented. He spit on whatever it was, and pulled the mysterious weapon from its shoulders. "Christ, talk about good timing." Chris laughed. Jack was lucky this thing couldn't stand severe blows to the head, or else it would have whirled around broken his neck. "Come on." Jack commanded. He strapped the gun over his shoulders and began to continue down the hallway. Chris still had no weapon, but that didn't matter to him. When they reached the elevator, the one that they had crawled down, they saw that it was obviously out of order. "Guess we'll have to use the stairs." Chris responded to the sign. They turned and headed back down the other way, thinking if there were any more of those, things, waiting for them. But they had to find a way to bypass any security, without tripping and alarms, alerting any guards, or anything at all. The infiltration went off without a hitch. There was absolutely no one in the building it seemed. They found it to be the oddest thing that if they captured their friends then the base would be on high alert. Quietly making their way to the forty-fifth floor, they began talk to each other about how to dissolve the situation. "What do you think they are going to do?" Jack asked. Chris shrugged his shoulders and thought of only one thing that would happen; torture. Jack stopped for a moment in the hallway. The halls split into two different directions. The two of them couldn't figure out which way to go. Whatever path looked more deviating would be the ideal choice. "Now what?" Chris asked. Jack looked solemnly both ways. He gripped the strap around his shoulders and thought for a second. "Let's split up." Jack replied to the eerie silence. Chris turned his head swiftly. "But what if something happens to one of us?" Chris asked in a sort of panic. Jack smiled. "Then lets be sure to save the others persons ass when they do get into trouble." Jack replied. He then switched back to a serious look, and started to walk down the hallway on the left. "Hey, I don't have a gun!" Chris yelled back in the distance. Jack thought about that. He was the only one armed. He would have to manage some other way. "Here!" Jack yelled. He took the weapon off of his shoulders and tossed it to Chris. Then he turned back around and began to walk again. Chris did the same, and flung the rifle around his shoulders and proceeded down the hallway. The building seemed deathly quiet. Jack had no explanation for this, but his gut said that everyone was moved to one location. The danger must have been revoked in certain instance. The top of building seemed to wind up endlessly. Each staircase was another tiring climb after another. The next flight led to an extended hallway with adjacent rooms and a broom closet. The elevator they had destroyed earlier had been marked off-limits with yellow tape. Jack followed the hallway down and then walked up the next flight of stairs. When he turned the corner, it abruptly ended with a key- card door. Along with the card slot was a number pad. He obviously needed a keycard and a code to get inside. Jack began searching the compound for any kind of card. The science labs which he had come from were empty. All they contained were lab experiments and test tube glasses. Every keycard must have been with the soldiers and guards. Every soldier and guard was in the place he was trying to get to! In order to draw them out he would need to create a distraction. But how could he if everyone was locked tight behind a steel door and really thick walls. He didn't even know if they were on the other side of that wall! Logistics didn't matter anymore. All that mattered now was how to get in there. Everyone was gone, and that is the only section of the building he's seen that has been locked down. He could possibly draw them out. With the chemicals that were used in the labs, he could create a chemical reaction that could cause an explosion, or create a toxic spill or poisonous gas that would draw them out to investigate. He searched the laboratories even more, and when he came across a locked door that read the words, "caution" on it, his mind began to churn. He tried to smash the door down by ramming it with his shoulder. The door seemed to be reinforced by some kind of steel. By the time his shoulder was aching, and the door hadn't budged an inch, he quit. He was out of ideas. He would have to blow it open, but the chemicals he needed would be inside. If only he had that gun he might be able to open the door. The room got quieter and darker, and Jack began to get dizzy. He turned around, and looked around. He saw nothing. He was swaying back and forth, his mind in a jumble. "What.I.can't." he mumbled. He staggered forward and tripped over a chair. He landed on a desk face first and got more and more tired. Everything seemed to spin around, and as soon as he realized what was going on, he was just about to pass out. He opened his eyes as wide as they would go. He tried to keep himself awake. Jack's thoughts were rushing, and he finally figured it all out. The guard him and Chris encountered in the hall; there was another one. He couldn't see him but he knew he was there. "You." Jack whispered. He rolled over and hit the floor, trying to stand up, but unable to do so. He felt the same way he had when Gene and the others rescued him. Drugged and unable to operate, he collapsed. Everything turned into a haze. He couldn't do anything. This was something he could not resist. He closed his eyes with a small grin on his face, assured that he would be inside that security checkpoint in no time. 


	8. Climax

Chapter 7: Climax  
  
Jack awoke with a groggy feeling, his head pounding and his throat sore. And by the way he was feeling, he must have been asleep for only an hour or so. He opened his eyes halfway and looked himself over. He had been strapped to a wall of steel, about two inches thick, judging by how hard he tapped it with his finger. He looked around the room as well, seeing a lot of lab equipment lying around. "Where the h-" Jack was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. "Good evening young one. I see you have awaken from your little sleep." The voice sounded raspy and scratchy. He couldn't see who it was because they were hidden behind a curtain. He could, though, see his shadow. It walked slowly to the end of the curtain, almost revealing himself, but stopping short at the end of it. "You see, its not like we always have visitors." The figure stepped out into the light, showing that he was less human than anything Jack had seen. He had wires all over his torso, and an arm of a machine, with a large mechanical object coming from his eye to the back of his head. He was huge as well. He was about seven feet tall, and by the looks of it, he was in some kind of accident a long time ago. "Who.or.what the hell are you?" Jack asked. The monstrosity seemed to smile a bit, but he couldn't tell, the way all the wires were jumbled together. "It would be of the least bit of importance to let you know. What I am really wondering about is where you came from and where I can find more of your friends." the man laughed. Jack's thoughts were racing. If he told them, he would be putting everyone in danger. He wouldn't make it off this planet along with the others. He wouldn't ever see any of them again. They would be hunted down like dogs and captured or killed like the others. "You shut your mouth you walking piece of scrap." Jack yelled back at him. He could only hope someone would come, or that someone would go for help and warn the others. He sure hoped Chris had made it. Otherwise, they were done for. "I'd watch what I'd say if I were you. You have no idea of what I could do to you right now." He walked over to a platform and stood in front of a control panel. He seemed to be hitting several buttons and swinging around to do the same on the other panel. Jack looked for a way out, but could not find any. He saw about six windows lined up in a tilted fashion at the end of the room. He might be able to escape through those, but he had to find a way to break his bonds first. "You know, I'm surprised you didn't die after that little experiment with those drugs on Hyra Prime. I'm sure your friends got to you in time. But that girl.yes.she made a fine example." He laughed and resumed typing at the controls. What did he mean? Did he do something to her while he was being blindly filled with chemicals? Jack's rage fumed and he tried breaking the metal cuffs himself, but it was no good. Maybe he had some connection with the Kei Pirates on Hyra Prime that kidnapped Melfina in the early stages of the assault. He had to get some information. "Tell me, before you kill me, exactly what your plan is? What the hell are you doing here?" Jack tried to sound scared and worried. He might fall for it. "Here? On this worthless planet? Why, test my new weapon. Once I get this thing working, I will be able to destroy entire planets. This one will make a fine example. That orbital station proved to be a good example." he seemed to get more into his plan as Jack listened. "You seem to have an uneasiness about all this don't you? No matter. When I test the sound waves on your body, I'm sure it will be ripped to pieces. I need a good example." He grinned. Jack clenched his teeth and grabbed the bars holding him by the wrists. "You see, I have no name, really, so you can call me Belam, if you wish.you see, once this planet is destroyed, I can move on, and use your ship for interstellar travel to destroy more and more planet. Why, while you were sleeping, I managed to look into your memory, and found a little blue planet that you call earth." Belam finished his sentence wish a mocking grin and a small cackle. Jack was raging now. If only he could break those bonds. But after a few second her heard a small creek coming from near the windows. He looked around as if he didn't hear anything specifically, so not to make this madman suspect anything. He then looked towards the window, to see a figure moving a few inches across a platform and then moving into the shadows. He hoped it was help. "You see, as long as no one interferes with my plans and I keep away those damned council members and snoopers like you, then I might be able to throw it all into action. Everyone would bow before me." Belam seemed to be talking to himself at the moment. Jack stared at the shadows hoping something would come out and kill this monster. The figure moved a little, and then jumped to another platform just out of Belam's line of sight. The figure shifted and then stopped. Belam continued to murmur things to himself, and then hit a few more switches and pressed some buttons. A weird sound emanated from a nearby speaker, and the noise was simply dreadful. Jack's ears were burning at the sound of it. Belam laughed madly over the sound of it. "Do you like it? It's the sound waves at a toned down frequency. First your ears will burst, and then your heart will fail, and the rest of you will be torn to pieces. So long!" Belam began to move out of the room. The figure on the platform shifted a little, and then Jack heard the sound of something swift whizzing past him. He looked to his right and saw the shackle had a bullet hole in it and was now loose. Jack yanked at it and it fell off. He heard another noise, and the shackle on the left came loose. Jack moved down and undid the shackles at his legs, and then jumped down. He looked up, and sure enough, Trowa leaped off the platform and met him face to face. "How did you-" Jack started, but Trowa interrupted him. "We haven't much time. Lets go. We can escape through those windows." Trowa finished by running towards the way to get up, but Jack grabbed his arm. "We can leave Heero and the others. We have to find them. That is why I'm here!" Jack explained. Trowa looked around for a bit, and then nodded. Jack looked for a door and found one at the end of the room. He covered his ears and ran for it. He stepped up to it and it immediately swung open. The hall inside was empty, to he ran as far into it until he collapsed on the floor. "My legs are a little weak. Just hold on for a minute." Jack said. Trowa sat down next to Jack against the wall.  
  
"Here, you might need this." he said. Trowa reached into a pocket in the outer shirt we was wearing. He pulled out a polished handgun and put it in Jack's hands. Jack looked at it and back at Trowa. Trowa pulled a few more clips out of his pockets and placed them at Jack's side. "How many more people have to go on like this? Is there any way we can do this without killing anyone?" Jack asked with a desperate tone in his voice. Trowa looked at him for a few seconds, and then reached back into his pocket and pulled out a few more strange clips. "The are tranquilizer darts. One hit and they are down in about one or two seconds. Just make sure you hit them around the head, so that the chemical effect will start itself quicker and distribute to the essential nervous system faster." Trowa set the clips down and then stood up promptly. "Do you think they will know you're gone?" Trowa asked him sternly. "Not for another hour or so. They left me to die, so lets find the others quickly." "Fine." Jack got up to his feet and then loaded the tranq clip into his gun. And placed the other magazines into a picket of his. "It's a M-673 multi-purpose pistol. Any bullet can be loaded into it, but be careful about how many you put inside; it can jam if too many large rounds are forced into it." Trowa took out his own loaded the designated rounds into the end of the weapon. "Lets go." Jack quietly commented, and they began to walk down the quiet corridor. 


	9. Status Report

Chapter 8: Status Report  
  
Chris moved silently through the halls of the abandoned base. He shifted his eyes and peeked around a corner and down a hallway. It was empty, but at the end of it was a door with a red light above it and a mechanical object lying on the floor that looked similar to a trash can. Chris moved closer to investigate. 'What the hell is that?' he thought to himself. When he was about ten meters in distance from it, a steel ball on a metal pole extended from the top and rotated. It seemed curved poles were coming from its side and touching the ground. The object pushed itself up on these poles, and shifted a little. A computer voice then sounded. "Security Alert. Security Alert. Intruder spotted on Level Three, Crew Corridors. Orders to terminate." The robot then began to move towards Chris quickly. "That's a mobile sentry gun!" Chris yelled, and ducked into a room that was directly next to him. The sentry moved down the hall, unable to locate him at the moment. Chris clutched his gun and closed his eyes. "Come on, don't fail me now." He said softly to himself. He leaped from the empty room and into the corridor behind the sentry. He pulled the trigger on the weapon he acquired from Jack earlier, and the spiked barrel opened and turned rapidly. The robot heard the noise, and turned its metal head around and spotted Chris. When the barrel of Chris's gun had reached a maximum velocity, a quick projectile shot from the barrel and made a large hole in the sentry's torso. The sentry recoiled and returned fire.  
  
Chris was hit by what seemed like a metal slug. It left no hole in him, only a bad bruise. He was pushed back a bit and scrabbled for cover, although the only safety was in the rooms. He stood and fired the weapon repeatedly. The robot was pushed back further for every bullet fired from the weapon. When the sentry seemed finished, Chris pulled the trigger only to hear a small, click. 'Not now, oh please not now.' he pleaded in his mind. Unfortunately, he was right. The gun was out of ammunition, and he had no spare rounds to load into the rifle. He jumped into another room, trying to find another weapon. Where he had landed was a janitor's closet, with a broom and some metal pipes. He had no choice but to go hand-to-hand. He picked up a pipe and ran towards the broken sentry. The sentry saw Chris's blind attack, and brought out what seemed like a type of sword. Chris stopped and the sentry limped towards him. He ran towards him again and took the fight to the bot. Him and the computer were exchanging heavy blows between their steel weapons. Finally, the bot's blade bent, and then snapped, leaving Chris with an opening. He kicked the sentry, and then when it fell over, he leaped in the air and landed a decisive victory blow into the sentry's head. The sentry made a shutting- down noise, and then red lens on its head faded. Chris got up from the attack and stood firmly, with his arms sore and his shoulder with a few cuts from the attack. He picked up the gun he had dropped and wrapped the strap firmly around his shoulders. He then slowly walked towards the door with confidence that nothing could stop him from getting to where he needed to. He walked up to the solid door and looked around it. There was a small keycard access holder next to it. He needed a keycard in order to obtain entrance. He started rummaging thought the empty rooms. 'Damnit, where is that keycard?' he thought to himself. He searched everywhere. Then he found an office with a locked desk drawer and some notes on it. He took a metal bar and hit the lock on the drawer with force. The drawer made a creaking noise and then jutted open. He opened it fully and fumbled around the papers inside. In a folder he found some security papers and a keycard attached to it with a paperclip. He took the keycard, and then decided to grab a few papers. He took some of the security layout designs and the schematics for the cameras and turrets. He folded them up very small and shoved them into his pocket. He then ran towards the door and slid the keycard into it. The light above the door flashed green and the door made a confirming beep noise as it opened. He stepped inside slowly and looked around. All he saw were crates stacked upon more crates. What was so secret about this place? He heard heavy footsteps and some mechanical tinkering along with them. Suspicious as ever, he moved close to a pile of three stacked boxes made of very weak wood. Some had stronger coverings that could withstand bullet fire or explosions, so he made sure to keep track of where those were if he ever needed to use them. He heard the clanking and heavy, pounding footsteps draw closer. He peeked around the corner and saw something that was obviously not something he expected. These men were strapped inside of some kind of mechanical hard- suits. They were all metal and glass, which seemed to be a problem. They ranged at least eight feet tall, and seemed like they weighed a ton. They moved very slowly and when they stopped, they swung their massive arms around just to be able to turn. Chris was terrified; not only were they big, but they also had better weapons and he had no ammo. The bullets might now even be able to penetrate their think armor, even if he had any. He had to sneak around them in order to reach whatever was on the other side of this depot. He first climbed up into a small array of boxes in order to avoid a passing guard. He then jumped out and moved slowly through a small passageway made by a group of stacked crates. He snuck past another guard when he want looking, and then ducked into a small duct and crawled to another side of the compound. He then saw a set of switches carefully hidden behind a set of boxes. He moved closer, evading any guards and dashed into the fray of wood and steel. He approached the switches carefully. It was obvious what they did, seeing as how each one had a label. They read: Power Supply Security Defenses Maintenance Bot Fire Extinguisher Chris wondered what he should push. If he activated the power supply and security defenses, then the guards would be cut to shreds by the dormant sentries that were ready to be activated. Of course, Chris would also be a target. But then he could activate the fire extinguishers to short out their circuits. It was just crazy enough to work. But he had to take into account that if he was discovered his cover was blown for good. He lifted the power supply switch first, and the lights and machinery came online. The guards started to wonder what was going on. Then Chris lifted the security defense switch, and the turrets made a beep noise as they activated and went into defensive mode. The guards began to try and find cover, but most were cut down by the fast firing slugs shot by the sentries. Some found a way to avoid them, and turned and fired back in an effort to destroy them. The guards were smart, but didn't appear to have much combat experience. They dispatched a small team to investigate the origin of the security system coming online. When they got to the control panel, there was no one there. The bars had been crunched, so there was no way to turn anything off. The guards cautiously raised their large rifles and peered around. Chris was in a panic. 'Shit, oh shit! I have to get out of here!' he thought to himself. He peered around a crate and saw an open entrance at the end of the hallway. If he ran for it, he would be cut down by the sentries and the guards. He tried to find an alternate way. The only other way was around the guards who were preoccupied with the turrets. That is when he had an idea. He dashed past the crowd of guards who stood there, oblivious. He ran into a stack of boxes and his behind them. He looked on and saw that there was one guard who was pinned down from a turret. He look frightened and couldn't move. His buddies didn't even notice him. That is when his idea took a change of plans. Chris jumped over the pile of boxes and ran on top of the platform looming over the sentry firing at the guard. He saw a box covered with hard edging and steel. He put his back to it and pushed as hard as he could. He inched the box off of the platform and smashed it onto the sentry, crushing its head and crunching it under the extreme weight. The guard peered from behind his cover, and saw what had happened. Chris jumped down right in front of him and confronted him with no fear.  
  
"You.you saved me! But, how did you get in here?" he asked in the midst of battle occurring between man and machine. "No time to explain. Listen, I need you to get me on the other side of this hall. Can you do it? Please?" Chris begged. The soldier looked confused and put his hand on the back of his head and removed the glass helmet. His eyes darted about, thinking of what was the right thing to do. "Sure, I'll help you, but please, get me out of this place. I don't want to be here. Wherever you came from, get me out!" he pleaded. "Alright, I'll take you with me. Now, can you get me out?" Chris asked again. The guard nodded his head and pointed to a wooden crate pile a little distance from where he was standing. "Those boxes; we need what is inside of those boxes if we are going to get out of here." He told him. Chris nodded, and turned and ran towards the pile of crates. The guard followed slowly behind him. Luckily, the rest of the soldiers were preoccupied at the moment. "Crack them open. There are weapons in one of there. We need them." He explained. Chris pushed a box off of the top and when it broke it revealed nothing. He pushed off another, and nothing appeared. He kicked one open and bent down and looked inside. He was dumbfounded. Inside was an entire cache of weapons. They fell out and the lid was taken off the side. "Take the laser rifle and four pistols. We need those." The guard said. Chris obeyed, and grabbed the stack of guns and separated them. The soldier, standing idly for the moment, pushed a button on his suit, and it split in two and opened itself up. He stepped out of it, appearing regular size, and closed it back up. "Give me the laser rifle and two pistols. You get the other two." He ordered. Chris handed him the laser rifle and two pistols, and he took two of his own and placed them firmly in his pockets. "Come on, we have to hurry. It wont be long before they realize I'm missing." He explained. They took off towards the other side of the hall, and stopped near a sentry. "Ok, listen, there are two ways out of here: that ventral duct up there, and that door over there. We cant let the others know where I am, so we should take the duct." He said. Chris nodded, and asked him a question. "How do we get past the sentry?" "Watch." The guard turned the corner slowly, and lifted the laser rifle towards the sentry. He fired a short burst, and when it impacted it, the armor began to glow yellow, then orange, then red, and finally, it exploded with a flash of light. Chris shielded his eyes, and looked back to see a pile of scrap where the sentry once was. "No time to explain, just crawl into the duct. I'll cover you." He ordered. Chris jumped up and grabbed the duct by the edges, and pulled himself into it slowly, but effectively. The solder tossed his rifle across his shoulders, and put the pistols in the holsters at his side. He jumped up and grabbed the duct, pulling himself inside and crawling along the insides with Chris. Once they reached the end of the air duct, Chris hopped out and pulled his weapon out immediately, scanning the area with his eyes and rolling for cover. There was no one in the hall, or for that matter, even on rounds. He went at ease, and the heavy guard stumbled and fell out of the duct and on his rear on the hard floor. He dusted himself off, and stood up. "Ok, I think we should get acquainted." He suggested. Chris smiled, and extended a hand. "My name's Chris, and I came in here looking for someone." He reported. The soldier took his hand and shook it firmly. "Private Smith Celsius. My friends call me Frosty, but you can just call me Smith. Who exactly were you looking for?" he asked. "Well, I came in here with a friend, and we split up. Here, I got this map from inside the halls. Take a look." He explained, pulling something out his left pocket, and unfolding it. "See, we split up here, in Sector C. We encountered something, well, strange in that area. A guard that looked like an alien. What was it?" Chris asked. Smith scratched the back of his neck and shook his head. "No idea. Command never informed me that they had replaced us in Sector C. Listen, if you need to know how to get around, I can help you. Do you have a picture of who you are looking for?" he questioned. Chris nodded, and pulled out a picture of Melfina with the group that they had taken a while back, and then said he has no picture for Heero. He described his as best he could though. "I believe I saw a group of officers taking two prisoners to the main floor. It is about twelve stories from here, and the elevator is broken, so we will need to find another way around. You sure are a little spy aren't you?" Smith asked. Chris just smiled. The two of them proceeded down the halls of the empty building, and looked around. They were getting higher up, via the stairs, and noticed the medical and science labs surrounding them. Once they reached the eleventh story, Chris noticed something strange. "Listen." He said, stopping Smith short of his walking. Smith was silent, and perked his ears attentively. They heard something like low breathing. Low, but heavy enough to be heard. Chris backed up against the wall, and Smith followed quietly. Chris drew his handguns, and raised them at level with his shoulders. He looked at the ground, and found hunk of scrap metal. He picked it up, took careful aim, and threw it at a nearby wall on the other side of their position, making a clang as it came in contact with the steel wall. Chris then heard a disorientating grunt. Everything Chris was hoping not to find was seamlessly crushed as he heard heavy footsteps walk towards the area the metal had hit the wall. Chris tapped Smith's arm, and pointed towards the wall. Smith looked puzzled, and then Chris pointed at himself, and then his eyes, signaling that Smith should watch him. He nodded, and stood stiff, moving his eyes as Chris moved. The footsteps stopped, and Chris held his breath. He then heard a quick gasp, and Chris began to fire blindly and the wall with his weapons recoiling only slightly. Smith thought he was crazy, until he saw blood being spattered onto the wall, seamlessly from nowhere. There were some groans of pain and some heavy breathing as Chris stopped shooting. "Fire! Fire! Shoot at it!" Chris yelled at Smith. Chris dropped his laser rifle and pulled the pistols from his holsters. He opened fire on the area where the blood had splattered, and sure enough, there were more shrieks and grunting as his bullets hit their target. Soon, his weapons went empty, and he heard the clicking noise to signal this indefinitely. He dropped his pistols and raised his laser rifle, but stopping once he heard a thud as something heavy hit the ground. Chris was breathing heavily; in and out, every breath seemed to be too much. He swallowed hard, and moved in closer with Smith trailing by only a few feet. Chris waited for a noise, but there was none. Instead, he saw distortions coming from where the thud had originated. There were some flashes, and soon enough, the beast was unveiled. It was the same kind of guard that they had encountered earlier in the compound. "That's him alright." Chris said nodding. Smith was very surprised and shocked. He knelt down and looked over the dead alien. "Well I'll be damned. He is one ugly son of a bitch isn't he?" Smith said enthusiastically. The creature made no movement at all; not even a twitch. "Listen, we have to keep moving. We didn't bring any extra clips with us, so you will have to use that laser rifle only. Understand?" Chris asked. Smith nodded his head in a confirming gesture. Chris stood up and walked over to a nearby door; the same door Jack was trying to figure out how to open a few hours ago. "Smith, can you open this?" he asked. Smith looked up from the dead alien, and walked over to where he was standing. He tapped the metal, and listened to it ring. He looked over it once more, and then stood back. "I think so, but it will drain the rifle's battery." He explained. Chris nodded, and stood back a little ways. Smith sighed, and raised the rifle up, aiming at the center of the door. He held down the trigger and it released a burst of energy. The door was glowing red, and then scarlet as it lost its strength, and finally began to melt. Chris stood back in awe, and was amazed at the power of the weapon. Smith stopped and released his finger from the trigger. There was a hold in it big enough for someone to crawl through, so they could easily access the other side. "This is what the rifle was made for." Smith said smiling, and lead Chris through the hole of the Level Three security door. 


	10. A Daring Escape

Chapter 9: A Daring Escape  
  
Jack and Trowa had finished loading their weapons and were in search of the two friendly captives held deep within the fortress. Trowa was obviously in charge, and always went first when investigating new areas. Jack followed silently behind; being Trowa's shadow. Trowa peeked around another corner, and signaled Jack with a sway of the hand. Jack rushed forward and crouched down, aiming his gun in that general direction. Trowa then moved on. "Where do you think they are?" Jack asked. Trowa stood up and brushed himself off and turned towards him. "Honestly I have no idea. I am getting tired of these empty rooms and halls and wish I could find a way out of this damned maze." He snorted. His temper was growing thin, and he had no time for games. Jack nodded, and they continued moving. "Sector E. Huh. We passed Sector D not too long ago, so that must mean we are getting near the top. On the way up, I observed this place has Sectors A through I. We are getting closer to the top." Jack explained. Trowa just nodded. They climbed higher up the stairs, encountering once again empty halls and rooms. Trowa was getting weary of climbing the steps, and sat down to rest for a minute. "I have no idea where we are going." he admitted. Jack placed an arm on his shoulder, and it made Trowa look at him intently. "We can't give up. We have to keep going. The others are counting on us to bring Mel and Heero home. We can't let them down now." Jack encouraged. Trowa smiled a small grin, and he got back up. "Listen, I think I might know where we are. While infiltrating earlier, I noticed that this area connects to a lobby area, and from there it goes up to Sectors H and I. But, there was an elevator on the other side that I had no idea where it led up too. I think that it might be another wing of the building. I suggest we check it out." Jack suggested. "Very well. I think that security should be light, seeing as how we have encountered no one yet. You are leader. Take us there." He said. Jack couldn't be happier. He walked down another silent hall, and once they made another right turn up the stairs, eventually they found that they had reached the lobby area. Jack's eyes darted back and forth. He held his weapon close. He then spotted the elevator nearby. "There, see it?" Jack exclaimed, pointing out the only elevator in the building that wasn't in shambles. Trowa nodded, and they dashed for the elevator. But the area was more strung up than they thought. Jack halted Trowa just before he tripped over a skinny, near-invisible wire. "Look, they have the place rigged. Take a look around and see if you can find more." He ordered, and he stepped over the wire, only to stop himself from tripping over another at level with his head, he bent over and tried to snake through the wires, but they were all over the place. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by small, inconspicuous wires. He didn't dare move, in fear of tripping whatever the wires were connected to. "Hold on." Trowa shouted. He stepped back, and then broke out into a run, and jumped clear over the wires. He landed on the other side, unscathed and graceful. Jack wanted to clap, but he couldn't. "Just a second." Trowa reassured. He searched for a device that would deactivate what looked like plastic explosive tied to wires. It was the oldest trick in the book. Then, upon further inspection, Trowa laughed. "What's so funny? I'm on the verge of being blow to pieces and you think this is funny?" Jack yelled. Trowa pointed to where the wires led, and eventually he saw that they were just tied end on end to nothing. They were connected to poles and the floor and nearby benches just too look as if they didn't want anyone to get inside. Jack sighed, and broke through the wires. He was very angry though. But not all was as it seemed. As soon as Trowa had stopped laughing, he looked closer, and one or two wires really were connected to a type of explosive, or at least a sensor of some sort. "Wait Jack, don't -" It was a useless attempt to warn him. Jack tripped one of the attached wires, and a fiery explosion erupted from his left. He was thrown to his right, and set off the other explosive by moving the wire. His was then tossed to his left again, his skin burning with heat and pieces of debris hitting him. He got up slowly, and Trowa ran to his side, helping him up. "I tried to tell you." he said. Jack responded by moaning at the feeling of being picked up after falling hard on the floor. "Now if not a good time. Come on, we need to get to that elevator." He gasped. Trowa helped him across the fire-ridden floor and hauled him to the elevator, and pushed the button. The elevator came to life and rang as it came to their level. Trowa boarded, with Jack still clutching him, and he pressed the largest number on the panel. The elevator made a slow and creaky ascend and then suddenly stopped. "What's going on?" Jack asked softly, letting go and staggering to his feet, swaying as he managed to hold his own weight. "I don't know. The elevator just stopped. It says we are on floor forty- six, but there are fifty floors. I don't know what's going on." Trowa responded. Jack raised himself up and slipped open the shaft doors. He pulled himself up drearily, and looked around. Everything seemed fine, until he had notice a loose cord on the elevator, about to snap. "We have to get out of here Trowa!" Jack yelled in shock. Trowa was confused, and climbed up to see for himself the problem. "Look.steady now." Jack responded in a paranoid manner. Trowa recognized the weathered cord, and moved about slowly, grabbing one of the ropes that led the top floor, and Jack followed. "Don't move too much or it will snap." Trowa advised. But the cord was becoming looser and looser as they climbed higher. Soon enough, the cord broke. The elevator made a thundering noise as it burst down the shaft, and it clanked against the sides of the walls as it skidded against the metal. Soon it reached the bottom of the shaft and crashed upon itself. The cord that the two men had been holding on to was moving upwards quickly, and they were being dragged up with it. Soon their hands would be crushed by the pulley upwards, and then they would fall down the shaft as the elevator had. Trowa's mind was racing, and he grabbed Jack and jumped off the cord and landed coordinately on the edges of one of the doors. He found something to grasp and held on tightly. Jack was on the verge of falling to his death, but Trowa held on tightly. There was an emergency open button, thankfully, next to where they were standing. Trowa reached over far and pressed it as quickly as he could. The door swung open, and they fell inside the room. There was an eerie silence after the ear-shattering events that had just occurred. They felt uneasy, but then they heard words coming from not too far off. It was booming through the halls, and seemed strong and encouraging. They staggered to their feet, and moved towards the door on the other side of the dark room. The door swung open, and they looked down the left and right. The left led back down the building, and the right took an almost immediate turn to the left, into what seemed like a massive room. The room wasn't empty. It was filled with soldiers. 


	11. A Riddle Unraveled

Chapter 10: A Riddle Unraveled  
  
Trowa and Jack couldn't shake the feeling that this was a rally of some sort, and then following an invasion. They walked into the room slowly, and luckily, they were clearly out of sight behind a large wall. They could see a screen with the picture of Belam, speaking to his men with fury and enthusiasm. Jack wanted to shoot him on the spot, but held back his urge and kept silent. "Come on, we have to keep moving, There is a way around these people, but we need to be completely silent." Trowa whispered. Jack nodded his head, and they moved from behind the wall to behind a stack of crates with the sign, "Danger" written on the side. They continued on, first going prone and sneaking past some idle guards standing watch, and then rolled past a security camera moving back and forth. "I think we can make it to that door if we cause some kind of distraction." Jack advised. Trowa nodded, and decided to throw a kind of explosive device near on of the boxes labeled with the warning symbol. He made a good throw, the arch being a little off, but unnoticeable. They small explosive went off and made a cackling sound. They attention of the crowd was immediately drawn to the explosive thrown by Trowa. When no one was watching, they scampered to the other side of the crowd, and ducked into a hall of more boxes with the warning symbol listed. "Good throw Trowa." Jack complemented, and Trowa just nodded. Then, they saw something awkward near the top of the structure. And air duct frame was moving, and soon it was pulled inside of the shaft and then, to their surprise, two men climbed out silently and landed behind the metal wall they were previously standing at. Jack was curious, and signaled to Trowa to follow him. They climbed a stack of crates, and reached the top. "Listen, Trowa, do you have a radio and some binoculars?" Jack asked. Trowa looked a little surprised, but reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of binoculars.  
  
"I have no radio. Sorry." Trowa responded apologetically. Jack smiled, and then looked out from the binoculars. Then to his great surprise, he saw who he had been hoping to see the entire time. It was Chris and some stranger talking to one another behind the safety of the wall. Jack heart filled with joy to be reunited with his comrade. Jack made a small signal, and the soldiers did not notice, but Chris could see on top of the crates that something was moving, and he took a close look, and sure enough he saw Jack waving at him from high up. Him and Smith began to move about and try and sneak past the guards. But then something stopped them cold when they looked on stage. "We have found two very intriguing people today. These are the ones responsible for those dead friends we had to bury in the courtyard. Well, we get our revenge today!" Belam yelled over the crowed. They all cheered, and Belam walked over to the side of the stage and yanked both Melfina and Heero onto the stage, both in towels and nothing else, and placed them at the center of the stage. Jack was shocked to see such mockery of his friends. Trowa was also burning with rage, at the sight of his fellow pilot being ashamed like this. "We shall see who will die today, once we execute these two murderers, and finalize out plan for getting of this city under out control!" Belam roared, and the crowed followed. Belam proudly walked over to where the two captives were huddled together, and ripped the towels from their bodies, each one standing naked. Humiliated. Accused. Heero stood silent while Melfina tried to expose herself less to the laughing soldiers. Jack was holding back a tremendous urge to strangle Belam, but held it back, for they had to get them out without alerting anyone else. But the plan fell around them like shattered glass. "Look men, there! Spies! Kill them!" Belam yelled. The men turned to where Trowa and Jack were crouched. Their cover was blown, and there was no escape. 


End file.
